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i Frontispiece. 




















Grace Harlowe’s Overland 
Riders Among the 
Border Guerrillas 


By 

JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A.M. 

Author of The High School Girls Series, The College Girls Series, The 
Grace Harlowe Overseas Series, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders 
on the Old Apache Trail, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders on 
the Great American Desert, Grace Harlowe’s Overland 
Riders Among the Kentucky Mountaineers, Grace Har¬ 
lowe’s Overland Riders in the Great North Woods, 

Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders in the High 
Sierras, Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders 
in the Yellowstone National Park, 

Grace Harlowe’s Overland Riders 
in the Black Hills, Grace Har¬ 
lowe’s Overland Riders 
at Circle O Ranch, 
etc., etc. 



Illustrated 


PHILADELPHIA 

HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY 



Copyrighted, 1924, by* 
Howard E. Altemus 


©C1A807551 


PRINTED IN THE 
UNITED STATES OP AMERICA 


OCT 29 1924 

\v> [ 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter I—A Keal Surprise Party .11 

Grace Harlowe has a happy secret. Yvonne discusses 
mice. Why Emma Dean ran down a policeman. The 
reunion at Haven Home. Arline Thayer takes Emma 
by surprise. The Overlanders are warned that trouble 
awaits them in the mountains. Lemuel St. Petersburg 
Johnson makes a hit. 

Chapter II— On the Long Trail .26 

A mule that had no name. Their first tragedy. In 
camp on the desert. Grace and Hippy read disturbing 
signs in the skies. “Plains storms are frightful 
things.” Lemuel “ breathes in harmony,” but 
doesn’t know it. The Overland camp is attacked. 
Overwhelmed by a desert sand storm. 

Chapter III— Lemuel Saves His Hat .38 

Stacy Brown has his usual luck. Overland girls nearly 
suffocated by the drifting sands. The little guide 
reckons that he is “daid.” “I’se shot!” Ponies 
are lost in the storm. An attacker’s mount is found 
shot. Senor Gonzales pays the Overland camp a visit. 
Lieutenant Wingate resents an insult with a blow. 

Chapter IT— Callers Drop In.50 

* 1 Get his guns! ’ ’ cries Grace. 1 * For this you shall 
die! ’ ’ threatens the Mexican dandy. Hippy hears 
the spang of a bullet. A visitor who was welcome. 

The stranger’s face undergoes a sudden change and 
his hand drops to his weapon. The Overland camp 
thrown into sudden turmoil. 

5 






6 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Chapter V—The Uninvited Guest.58 

“Lemuel has been hurt.” Arline has a sudden col¬ 
lapse. Stacy gets the worst of his argument with 
Miss Dean. Prowlers disturb Lieutenant Wingate. 

The Overlanders’ sentry goes to sleep at his post. 

A mysterious message from “Willy.” Stacy awak¬ 
ens to find a stranger asleep beside him. 

Chapter VI —Stacy Makes a Capture. 69 

* 1 You keep still or it will be the worse for you. ’’ The 
stranger sniffs at the fat boy’s weapon. “Crazy” 

Bill Belden introduces himself. The laugh is turned 
on Stacy. Emma Dean defines “dirt.” The magi¬ 
cian of the cook fire. 1 ‘ I smell smoke! ” A bullet 
goes through Bill Belden’s coffee pot. 

Chapter VII—Voices of the Night...79 

Overland Eiders hastily seek cover. Eage takes away 
the mountaineer’s appetite. Emma advises him to 
breathe in harmony. Eifle signals are heard in the 
hills. The cry of a “banshee.” “Keep yer hands 
away from yer guns! ’ ’ commands a stern voice. 

Chapter VIII —Crazy Bill Wakes Up.87 

The Mexican dandy makes a demand for money. Pat 
Proll shows his teeth. “As an officer of the law it 
is my duty to arrest you! ’ ’ the deputy sheriff informs 
the Overlanders. Crazy Bill passes the lie! Bullets 
find human marks in the Overland camp. 

Chapter IX —The Flight. 96 

Biding away from trouble. The mountaineer is sud¬ 
denly missing. Disaster follows a daytime nap. Lem¬ 
uel disappears. The search. Hippy strikes a hot 
trail and calls his companions to look at it. A shock¬ 
ing discovery. 







CONTENTS 


7 


PAGE 

Chapter X—Disasters Come Fast.108 

The little guide beaten and carried away. Hippy 
takes the trail armed for trouble. The trailer fails 
to return. Overlanders guard their camp. Stacy ’s 
health will not permit his working before or after 
meals. 1 ‘ Stop! You’re shooting at me, you idiot 1 ” 
yells Tom Gray. 

Chapter XI—A Message prom “Willy”.116 

Stacy makes an alarming discovery. ‘ 1 Stacy has been 
shooting at shadows. ’ ’ A hat that yielded a mystery. 
“The fat boy’s bullets are trained bullets,” avers 
Emma Dean. A bullet puts a sudden end to the Over¬ 
land investigation. 

Chapter XII—A Narrow Escape .122 

“Doan’ shoot. Ah ain’t done nothin’,” wails St. 
Petersburg Johnson. Lemuel tells the story of his 
captivity. Tom Gray goes in search of Hippy. A 
night of anxiety. Overland girls keep a ceaseless 
vigiL Grace makes a startling discovery. 

Chapter XIII —Juana, the Mysterious.131 

The Overland girls respond to an alarm. “Girls, 
there is someone in that tent,” announces Grace Har- 
lowe impressively. The intruder is dragged out. Over- 
landers meet with a great surprise. “Look out! 
Juana has run away! ” A smothered scream answers 
the Overland hail. 

Chapter XIV—Hippy Finds a Hot Trail.140 

The duel in the mesquite. The Overlander is laid low 
by a blow. Lieutenant Wingate has an unhappy awak¬ 
ening. Captors taunt their victim. Hippy is fed 
by brute strength. A Mexican comes to grief. * 1 Senor, 
for that you die! ’ ’ 







8 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Chapter XY—A Voice from the Shadows .149 

Lieutenant Wingate faces sudden death. On the rene¬ 
gades ’ trail. Eescued by a mysterious stranger. The 
flight from the guerrillas. Hippy hails the wrong man. 

A blow and a shot. * 1 There ’s a man on that animal ! 19 
A discovery that thrilled. 


Chapter XVI—A Warning that was Heeded .159 

( ‘Spread out and be ready for trouble!” Arline is 
found a crumpled heap. A stranger by the campfire. 

Bill Belden makes himself at home. Another mysteri¬ 
ous message. The attack on the camp is on. * 1 1 got 
him 1 Look out for yourselves, ’ 1 shouts Stacy Brown. 


Chapter XVII— On a Secret Mission.168 

Tom and Hippy flee from the border guerrillas. Bud 
leads the way. In the secret rendezvous of the Texas 
Bangers. Overland Eiders join the Eanger band. Tom 
and Hippy hear a thrilling message. “ Flash the 
alarm! ’ 9 


Chapter XVIII—The Ambush.179 

‘ 1 For goodness ’ sake, back up! ” The Overland girls 
consult in the face of peril. Mysterious figures seen 
skulking in the shadows. The girls seek a hiding 
place. “We are surrounded on all sides, ,, whispers 
Grace Harlowe. 


Chapter XIX— Bangers Take a Hand .187 

A new note in Two-Mile Pass. (1 1’m hit! ’ 9 cries 
Arline Thayer. Ambushers put to rout. “We’re 
saved! We’re saved!” Overlanders flee for safety. 
“The Bangers have them now.” 







CONTENTS 


9 


PAGE 

Chapter XX —A Surprise at El Capital.193 

Tit for tat, and the Ranger is it. A mystery found 
at El Capitan Rock. Humans first, mules next. Lem¬ 
uel shouts a warning. The Overlanders are accused 
of being horse thieves. “Keep your hands away 
from your guns!’ ’ warns a voice from the bush. 

Chapter XXI —On the Guadalupe Trail.202 

A rancher who met with a great surprise. “You 
started something that you can’t finish.” The posse 
rides away. Twinkling signals from a faraway moun- 
taintop. Tom and Hippy have a secret. Overlanders 
pass ten happy days. St. Petersburg Johnson makes a 
“ ’scovery.” 

Chapter XXII—Lemuel Makes a Find.213 

Mule tracks point the way. Tom Gray expresses his 
doubts. Overlanders turn up a mystery. The clue 
that led to nowhere. Lemuel scouts for trouble while 
Lieutenant Wingate keeps his night’s vigil. “Cap’n, 
dey’s comin ’, ’ ’ whispers the little black boy. 

Chapter XXIII —“The Guerrillas Are Coming! ”.224 

Mysterious horsemen ride into view. Strange doings 
in the Guadalupes. Hippy has a tense few moments. 

* 1 Dey’s all gone, ’ ’ announces Lemuel. Elfreda Briggs 
solves a great mystery. “ Someone must go for the 
Rangers! ’ ’ Startled by a voice from the mesquite. 

Chapter XXIV —Juana Leads the Way. 237 

The Mexican girl offers to lead the Overlanders to 
safety. A bullet lays low the little leader. Bullets 
whistle over the Overland position. A machine gun 
stutters in the early morning. Help comes at last. 
Willy McKay reveals himself. Overland girls learn 
a “big little lesson.” 







GRACE HARLOWE’S OVER¬ 
LAND RIDERS AMONG 
THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 


CHAPTER I 

A REAL SURPRISE PARTY 

| ^HERE they are! Remember, Yvonne, 
don’t yon dare give away onr se¬ 
cret,” warned Grace Harlowe as the 
honk-honk of Tom Gray’s anto horn told her 
that their expected gnests had arrived at Haven 
Home. 

Grace, her face flushed with excitement and 
happy anticipation, ran out to greet the girls 
of the Overland outfit. She was followed by 
Yvonne on dancing feet. 

“Girls! Girls! Is it really you?” cried 
Grace. 

“Yes, what is left of us,” gasped Emma 
Dean, and a moment later the arms of Emma, 
Nora Wingate and Elfreda Briggs were hug¬ 
ging Grace delightedly. 

11 



12 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Don’t, don’t! Don’t smother me, I beg of 
yon,” protested the mistress of Haven Home 
as she released herself from the enthusiastic 
mauling of her friends. 

‘ ‘ Here, here! Am I to be entirely left out ? ’ ’ 
demanded Hippy Wingate, stepping forward. 

“Indeed not. You may shake hands with 
me,” answered Grace, extending her hand in 
warm, friendly greeting. “I am glad to 
see—” 

“Yvonne! Oh, you dear!” It was Elfreda 
Briggs’ voice heard above the chatter and the 
laughter as she ran to the golden-haired girl 
that Grace had adopted in France. “Let me 
look at you. How you have grown! How dif¬ 
ferent you are from the little girl that Grace 
found that terrible night when the big guns 
were hurling steel into your deserted home 
city. What has become of the yellow cat that 
she found with you?” 

“Kitty is well, but she is so very fat that she 
no longer cares for mice, even for dessert. Ma 
Mere says that Yvonne has spoiled her with 
too much sweets. Mademoiselle Briggs, were 
you a kitty would you eat mice?” 

Miss Briggs’ reply was lost in the shout of 
laughter that followed Yvonne’s naive ques¬ 
tion, and further discussion of mice was 
avoided when Grace led her guests into the 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 


13 


house, where a fresh outburst of chatter in¬ 
stantly began. 

i ‘ Grace, never, never again will I ride with 
that husband of yours. He is the most reck¬ 
less driver I ever saw, and I count myself most 
fortunate that I am alive/’ declared Emma. 
“Wh y—” 

‘ ‘Reckless ?” cried Elfreda. *‘ When com¬ 
pared with you, Emma, he is a procession. 
I’ll tell you people a story about Emma. This 
spring she was driving her uncle’s car in 
Boston, and ran down a traffic policeman, 
knocked him down and rolled him over into 
the gutter.” 

“Oh, Emma!” cried the other girls in 
chorus. 

“The policeman got up, covered with dirt, 
red of face, and, in the language of the street, 
was ‘red-headed.’ He gave her an awful call¬ 
ing down and ended by demanding, ‘What was 
you trying to do, anyway?’ ‘Why, I—I think 
I was trying to get one of your brass buttons 
for a hat pin,’ answered Emma idiotically, 
whereupon the traffic man told her to go on 
before he changed his mind and arrested her. 
Now what do you think of that, folks?” 
finished Miss Briggs. 

What they thought was expressed in a gale 
of laughter. 


14 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“I think you are real mean. I wasn’t driv¬ 
ing more than twelve miles an hour,” pro¬ 
tested Emma indignantly. 

4 ‘That is what they all say,” observed Tom 
Gray. 

“Where is Stacy Brown? Isn’t he to accom¬ 
pany us on our trip this summer?” questioned 
Elfreda. 

“Oh, yes. The party would not be complete 
without that irrepressible young man,” an¬ 
swered Tom laughingly. “Stacy will join us 
at New Orleans and—” 

“New Orleans?” Miss Briggs raised her 
eyebrows inquiringly. 

“I suppose we might as well tell you,” in¬ 
terjected Grace. “We have decided to ride in 
Texas this season. We understand that there 
are some interesting experiences to be had 
there, especially in the Guadalupe Mountains. 
Hippy has arranged for ponies for us, so we 
are not going to take our own, as I have al¬ 
ready written to you.” 

“What do you mean by ‘interesting experi¬ 
ences’?” questioned Emma, regarding Grace 
narrowly. ‘ ‘ Bandits, and then more bandits ? ’ ’ 

“Oh, no; not necessarily. Rough country, 
new scenes, and perhaps here and there an in¬ 
teresting local character.” 

“Help!” murmured Emma. “The trouble 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 15 


with your interesting characters is that they 
are so frightfully interesting that one’s life 
isn’t safe in the same county with them. 
Grace, Hippy is famished. Don’t we get any¬ 
thing to eat in this hospitable home?” 

44 Thank you,” bowed Lieutenant Hippy 
"Wingate. 

“You shall be fed, children. First, I have a 
little surprise for you,” Grace informed them. 
“I wish I might delay it a little longer, for I 
do so enjoy the anticipation of your surprise. 
You may come in now, dear,” she called, ad¬ 
dressing someone in an adjoining room. 

The portieres parted and a fair-haired, blue¬ 
eyed young woman stood revealed between 
them. The Overlanders looked, then gasped. 

“A-r-l-i-n-e T-h-a-y-er!” breathed Elfreda 
Briggs. 

“Daffydowndilly!” cried Emma Dean, 
springing up and running to her. 

“Well, well, if it isn’t our buddy of the 
World War,” wondered Hippy as the Over¬ 
landers fairly swept Arline from her feet in 
the exuberance of their greeting. 

Arline had been the chum of Grace, Emma 
and Elfreda at Overton College, and later 
served with the Overton Unit in France. She 
was an old friend, and a much-loved one. 
Following the war, Arline had become a settle- 


16 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


ment worker, and the experience had matured 
her even more than had her service in France 
during the strenuous days of the great conflict. 
Emma, after regarding the young woman for 
a few moments, declared that she was as per¬ 
fect a type of an old maid as she had ever seen. 
With that they started for the dining room, but 
Arline halted them, saying that she wished to 
ask Emma a question. 

“My dear girl, do you breathe in harmony ?” 
questioned Arline, placing a hand on Emma’s 
sleeve. 

“I—why, what do you mean?” stammered 
Miss Dean. 

“Do you breathe and live in harmony with 
the universe—does your soul give sweetness to 
all persons in the world and—” 

For once Emma was confused, the more so 
because of the chorus of chuckles and laughter 
that interrupted Arline’s questions. 

“No, I don’t,” retorted Emma with con¬ 
siderable irritation. “Do you?” 

“I try to, but I am merely a novice in this 
wonderful New Thought that is rapidly draw¬ 
ing the attention of the—” 

“Let’s go,” urged Miss Briggs. 

“Yes,” agreed Hippy. “The best of all new 
thoughts I can think of is that dinner is 
served.” 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 


17, 


The party went on to the dining room, Emma 
elevating her pugnacious little nose a little 
higher than usual. Many an amused glance 
was directed at her during the meal, because 
for once, Emma appeared to be at a loss for 
words to express what she felt. Perhaps the 
merry twinkle in Grace Harlowe’s eyes also 
had something to do with Emma’s disturbed 
state, for she was fully as keen an observer as 
Grace herself. 

It was a merry party, just the same, and 
dinner was followed by a happy evening, dur¬ 
ing which much of the conversation related to 
the plans for their journey which was to begin 
on the morrow. Yvonne, who was to spend the 
summer with Grace’s relatives, retired early, 
after bidding good-bye to the guests. When 
the evening came to an end, and the Overland 
Riders rose to go to their rooms, Arline once 
again approached Emma. 

“Remember, dear,” she said, “to breathe in 
harmony. Permit no inharmonious thought 
to enter your mind.” 

“Thank you, Daffy do wndilly, and see to it 
that you apply that advice to yourself,” re¬ 
torted Emma, whereupon she flaunted off to 
bed. 

In the confusion incidental to the departure 
next morning, Emma heard no more of 

2——Grace Harlowe and Border Guerrillas 


18 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“ breathing in harmony / 9 but later in the day, 
after the party had entrained for the South, 
Arline again turned her attention to the little 
freckle-faced Overlander, and in the succeed¬ 
ing days of their journey Emma had little 
respite from Arline, but Emma observed that 
she was the only one of the party on whom 
Arline inflicted her hobby. 

When they reached New Orleans, where they 
spent a couple of days while waiting for Stacy 
Brown to join the party, Emma kept away 
from her companions as much as possible, and 
devoted considerable time to pondering over 
Arline’s nagging. By the time Stacy joined 
them, she had arrived at certain definite con¬ 
clusions, which became confirmed ere they 
reached their final destination. 

Carlos, a little Texas desert town, blazing 
hot in the spring sunshine, was the point at 
which they detrained on the morning of the 
second day after leaving New Orleans. It was 
Carlos from which they were to begin this sum¬ 
mer ’s outing in the saddle, a town that was 
not attractive to the eye for its beauty or for 
the appearance of its inhabitants. 

“A bunch of rough-necks , 99 observed Stacy 
Brown after looking over the throng of cow¬ 
boys and Mexican vaqueros assembled to meet 
the train that morning. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 19 


“This doesn’t look at all promising ,’ 9 ob¬ 
served Miss Briggs. “Arline, do yon like it!” 

“Like it? I like everything, the wide open 
spaces and smiling nature. I love everything 
because everything is beautiful. Who couldn’t 
breathe in harmony here? Girls, this is life 
and I want to live it—life unfettered by either 
conventions or brick walls—I want experience,, 
adventure,” finished Arline dramatically. 

“Huh!” grunted Stacy Brown. 

“You’ll get it,” promised Emma Dean a 
little maliciously. 

“Judging from past experiences with the 
Overland Riders in our journeys on the Old 
Apache Trail, across the Great American 
Desert, and on many a mountain trail, your 
fond wish, Arline, is parent to the reality. Life 
is coming your way and coming fast,” averred 
Elfreda Briggs. 

While this conversation w T as being carried on 
at the railroad station, Hippy Wingate was in¬ 
quiring for the man of whom they were to hire 
ponies for the journey across the plains and 
through the mountains. He found the man in 
the person of Tom Bainbridge, an American 
rancher who affected the dress of the Mexican 
vaquero or cowboy. Hippy introduced him 
to the others of the party and the rancher 
swept off his sombrero in acknowledgment. 


20 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“You don’t mean to tell me that these young 
women are goin’ into the mountains, do you?” 
he asked. 

Hippy nodded. 

“It ain’t safe. The guerrillas are makm’ 
things hot all the way between the border and 
the hills. What it’s all about we don’t know, 
but we do know there’s goin’ to be trouble un¬ 
less the government takes a hand and chases 
the ruffians out. Better hit the trail to the 
north,” suggested the rancher. 

“Isn’t that perfectly lovely?” cried Emma. 
“How you will love it, Arline darling. You 
will show the guerrillas how to breathe in har¬ 
mony, won’t you? Oh, I’m so glad!” 

“Guer-rillas!” stammered Arline. “What 
are they?” 

“Greasers mostly, Miss,” Bainbridge in¬ 
formed her. “Half-breed Mexicans, vaqueros, 
renegade whites and the like.” 

Arline’s face lost some of its color, then she 
laughed. 

“I know. You people are trying to frighten 
me. I am not afraid,” she said, assuming a 
courage that she plainly did not feel. 

Emma Dean was delighted, nor was her 
delight lost on the other members of the Over¬ 
land outfit. 

Hippy soon after that went away with the 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 


21 


rancher to look over the ponies. Bainbridge 
said he had a colored boy in his employ who 
would do for a guide and handy man, and who 
was useful around horses, as well as possess¬ 
ing familiarity with most of the country over 
which the Overlanders proposed to ride. He 
also said that he would fetch the hoy back with 
him for their inspection. 

While Hippy was absent, Tom and Stacy 
assembled their belongings and arranged them 
in packs. In the meantime the Overland girls 
made their coffee in the open, fried bacon at 
the end of a sharp stick, and ate their break¬ 
fast sitting on a pile of railroad ties beside the 
tracks, observed by pretty much all the in¬ 
habitants of the village. 

Nearly two hours had elapsed when Hippy 
and Bainbridge returned, and with them the 
colored boy that the rancher had recommended. 
He was quite the blackest black that the Over¬ 
land Riders had ever seen, the blackness of his 
face being sharply accentuated by ivory-white 
teeth that were at all times prominently in 
evidence. 

“Emma, I’ll bet you’d give a million dollars 
to have teeth like that,” suggested Stacy. 

“You lose, Stacy. I haven’t so much money. 
What is his name!” she asked, turning to 
Hippy 


22 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Hippy Wingate said that he hadn’t asked. 
“Here, boy, what is your name?” 

“Lemuel St. Petersburg Johnson, sah,” 
was the response that brought a laugh from 
the Overlanders. 

“Lemuel St. Petersburg Johnson,” reflected 
Emma. “Lemuel, why didn’t your parents 
give you a long name while they were about 
it?” 

“Ah reckons it wuz ’cause they wuz too 
pooah to gib me er longah one,” answered the 
black boy, showing the whites of his eyes as he 
rolled them from one to another of his audi¬ 
ence. 

This time the merriment was more boisterous 
than ever, and the rancher joined in it in a 
series of explosive roars. 

“I reckon that answer will hold you for a 
while, Emma Dean,” cried Hippy, noting her 
flushed face and the unspoken retort framed 
on Miss Dean’s lips. 

“Breathe in harmony and all will be sunshine 
within,” whispered Arline Thayer, which 
remark did not serve to lessen the little Over¬ 
land Eider’s irritation, but she restrained her¬ 
self. It was the first journey of the Eiders on 
which Emma did not have a hobby of her own 
which she rode to the undoing of her compan¬ 
ions from the beginning of the season to the 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 23 


end. Now Arline Thayer had stepped in with 
a hobby of her own and Emma’s nose was “out 
of joint.” 

As Emma pondered over the situation, the 
other girls were questioning Lemuel as to his 
accomplishments. He declared that he could 
cook, guide, ride and sing. Tom was engaged 
in earnest conversation with the rancher from 
whom they had hired ponies, discussing trails 
and international conditions on the Rio Grande, 
and the Overlander was not a little disturbed 
over the rancher’s expressed opinion that 
another Mexican revolution was brewing. Tom 
Gray learned that a few scattered raids already 
had been made on ranches on the American 
side of the Rio Grande, and he would have 
been in favor of seeking other fields for their 
summer outing were it not that he was there on 
an official mission for the government to sur¬ 
vey forestry conditions in the southwestern 
part of the State of Texas. 

In the meantime the girls had found them¬ 
selves amusedly interested in Lemuel, and 
Grace announced that they were eager to take 
him with them, promising, as he did, much en¬ 
tertainment for the Overland Riders. 

“What emolument do you desire, Mr. St. 
Petersburg?” demanded Hippy ponderously. 

Lemuel rolled his eyes. 


24 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Wha—wha dat?” he stammered. 

“Mr. Wingate wants to know what wages 
you want,” interpreted Grace. 

The boy said he must have five dollars a 
week, which was much less than they had been 
accustomed to paying their guides on previous 
outings. 

“Then, provided there are no objections, 
Lemuel St. Petersburg Johnson will be signed 
up as the general factotum of this bunch of 
rough riders,” announced Hippy. “If there 
are objections, voice them now or forever hold 
your peace.” 

No one answered. 

“Any further questions?” persisted Hippy. 

“Yes. I have,” spoke up Emma. “While I 
have no objections to offer to hiring the boy 
with the ivory teeth, I am somewhat in doubt 
as to one important factor. Were he to fail to 
measure up to that, it surely would mean a 
tragedy, at least to one member of our party.” 

“Oh, Emma!” begged Nora, starting 
towards her. 

Miss Dean waved her aside, and, stepping 
forward, placed a hand on the colored boy’s 
shoulder. 

“Lemuel St. Petersburg,” she began in an 
impressive tone of voice, “lam about to ask 
you a question that may mean life or death to 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 25 


you—to all of us. Think well before you an¬ 
swer. Lemuel, I would ask you, do you breathe 
in harmony ? Is your soul in tune with the uni¬ 
verse V 9 4 

6 6 Wha—wha—wha— Ah doan—” The fur¬ 
ther reply of the ebony-faced guide was lost in 
the gales of laughter that swept over the party 
of Overland Riders. 

Emma Dean had turned the tables on her 
tormentor. 


26 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER n 


ON THE LONG TRAIL 


EMIJEL was engaged on the spot, and 



when the mustangs from Bainbridge’s 


ranch were brought up the interest of 
the Overlanders was centered on them. 

The mustangs were lean and scrubby, ill- 
natured looking animals, but they plainly were 
tough and equal to the work for which they had 
been hired. A pack mule was a part of the 
stock equipment, and this animal was to be 
LemuePs especial charge. 

Arline eyed the mustangs with some appre¬ 
hension. 

“Do you rideT’ Nora asked her. 

“Oh, yes,” answered Miss Thayer with more 
confidence than she felt. “I have ridden much, 
though not for some time, but you know riding 
is like swimming—one never forgets it.” 

“This is a ride that you will be glad to for¬ 
get,” observed Stacy Brown. 

“Choose your partners,” called Hippy. 

The girls selected their mounts. Then came 
the saddling, which was the test of the disposi- 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 27 


tion of the animals. Some kicked and squealed 
and bucked and fought, hut the Overland 
Riders were not disturbed. They had had ex¬ 
perience with unruly ponies on other occasions. 
The most docile mustang of the lot was 
assigned to Arline Thayer; then packs were 
lashed to the pack mule while Lemuel went 
home to get his equipment for the journey. 
The start was to he made at once, as the Over¬ 
landers were eager to be on their way. When 
Lemuel returned his appearance brought a 
shout of laughter. 

Lemuel had put on a battered plug hat, and 
a bright yellow tie decorated his soiled collar. 
His trousers reached to the knees and his feet 
were bare. The boy showed his gleaming teeth 
in a smile of satisfaction over his appearance. 

i 1 Take that thing off!” commanded Hippy. 
“Get a hat or go bareheaded.” 

“Please, please, Hippy. Don’t!” begged 
Emma. “I just adore style, and St. Peters¬ 
burg surely is a glass of fashion.” 

“I shouldn’t worry about a mere hat,” spoke 
up Miss Briggs. “It will not last long.” 

The girls all sided with their little guide, 
and Lemuel’s adornment was saved for the 
time being. He promptly clambered to the 
back of the pack mule and perched himself pre¬ 
cariously on top of the packs. 


28 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“How fast can that bundle of bones travel?” 
demanded Stacy, surveying the thin mule 
doubtfully. 

“ ’Bout er mile er minute, Ab reckons, Boss. 
Dat aire mule got reg’lar angel feet. Dey 
don’t touch de ground ’cept when be wants ter 
land.” 

“Yes. We have bad experience with that 
kind of mule before,” observed Miss Briggs. 
“Are we ready to start?” 

The Overlanders regarded Arline with con¬ 
siderable interest as she took to her saddle, 
which she did in a manner that showed her to 
be measurably familiar with mounting prop¬ 
erly. She was a little timid at first, and settled 
herself in the saddle as though she feared to 
throw her whole weight on it. The mustang, 
however, behaved very well. The others then 
swung into their saddles, and Tom Gray con¬ 
sulted his government map and took an obser¬ 
vation of the general direction in which they 
wished to travel. 

“Better not stir up anything with Carlos 
Gonzales, should you chance to meet him,” 
advised Bainbridge in a low tone to Hippy 
Wingate. 

“Who is Gonzales?” questioned the Over¬ 
lander. 

“A Mexican rancher down in the foothills, 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 29 


and a bad one, so they say. Yon haven’t told 
anybody where yon are going or that Mr. Gray 
is a government man, have you 2” 

Hippy shook his head. 

“Anyone is welcome to know who and what 
we are and what onr pnrpose is. We have no 
reason for concealment,” answered Hippy. 
Then he thanked the rancher for his warning. 
“All ready, folks. Lemuel, see that yon keep 
np with ns. We’ll see what that mnle can do. 
By the way, what is the beast’s name!” 

“Ain’t got no name. Jest mnle, dat’s all.” 

The Riders, waving their good-byes to the 
rancher and the villagers, rode away laughing. 
It was observed that Arline bounced in her 
saddle more than she should, and she was 
urged to sit tighter. In the meantime, Lemuel’s 
mule surprised all hands by settling down into 
a pacing lope that enabled him to keep well up 
with the mustangs. In fact, the boy appeared 
to be having difficulty in keeping the mule from 
outdistancing the other animals. This was a 
favorable beginning, meaning that the Over¬ 
land Riders would not be obliged to halt at 
frequent intervals to enable their pack animal 
to catch up with them. 

Soon the first tragedy occurred. Arline’s 
pony stumbled. Taken unawares, Miss Thayer 
plunged headlong, landing in a cloud of dust. 


30 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


“Arline!” cried Nora, reining in and spring¬ 
ing down. ‘ ‘ Are you hurt ? 9 9 

“I—I don’t know. I think I am. Oh, this is 
terrible.” Arline was covered with dust, and 
her body was limp. 

“ Breathe in harmony and you will be all 
right in a moment,” urged Emma solicitously. 

The girls laughed in spite of their sympathy 
for Arline, who was quickly assisted to her feet 
and brushed off, then helped up onto her sad¬ 
dle. 

“I thought you could ride a horse,” growled 
Hippy. 

“I can, but I know I never shall be able to 
get used to the gait of this peculiar animal,” 
complained Miss Thayer. “Don’t we rest at 
all?” 

Grace told her that they were looking for a 
water hole, and that when one was found they 
would halt for a rest and a bite to eat. Lemuel 
seemed to know no more about water holes than 
they did, and after a futile search they decided 
to stop for luncheon and to use water from 
their own canteens, giving the ponies sips from 
that slender supply. 

The ponies were far from being pleased with 
the meager quantity of water doled out to them, 
which did little more than moisten their lips. 
The Overlanders ate a “cold” luncheon as 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 31 


they walked about because the ground was too 
hot to sit upon. 

On beyond in the blue haze, cool and invit¬ 
ing, were seen the broken mountain ranges of 
the Texas southwest, many lone peaks rising 
majestically out of the haze and outlined 
clearly against the sky. These mountains and 
peaks, however, now appeared to be fully as 
far away as when first discovered by the Over¬ 
land Riders earlier in the day. This same 
phenomenon had been observed by the Over¬ 
landers on other journeys, but to Arline it was 
new and puzzling. The desert that lay between 
them and their destination, too, presented a 
scene that gave her a strange feeling of un¬ 
easiness that she was unable to analyze. To 
Arline Thayer it was a scene of desolation, of 
sand and sage, cactus and heat, and of terri¬ 
fying silence. Even the greens of sage and 
cactus had clothed themselves in the cheerless 
gray of the desert, a desert of shifting sands, 
blazing heat and frequent windstorms. 

After a brief halt the journey was resumed, 
greatly to her relief. The riders continued on 
until late in the afternoon when Tom Gray 
found a water hole. Lemuel, whose duty it 
was to be on the lookout for water, had been 
too busy singing and scolding the mule. Ar¬ 
line had to be assisted from her saddle, as she 


32 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


was exhausted when they halted to make camp 
for the night. Her companions made her as 
comfortable as possible while Lemuel was 
gathering greasewood sticks for the cook fire. 

“Tenderfeet ought to stay at home,” de¬ 
clared Stacy, frowningly observing Arline. 

“You are here, aren’t you?” retorted Emma 
rebukingly. 

Stacy grunted and walked away. 

In the meantime, Grace had been observing 
the skies. Finally, she beckoned to Tom and 
Hippy to join her. 

“Have you noticed the skies, Hippy’?/* she 
asked. 

“Yes, for the last two hours.” 

“What’s the matter with them?” demanded 
Tom Gray. “I think them beautiful.” 

“The matter is that they are far from beau¬ 
tiful in their purpose this evening, ’ ’ responded 
Grace. “They are threatening. You were not 
with us on our trip across the Great American 
Desert, Tom, so of course you do not know how 
to read the signs here.” 

“That’s right, Tom,” confirmed Hippy. 
“That glassy yellow that you see, indicates a 
wind storm. We may or we may not get it, but 
I reckon that it would be wise to be prepared 
for it. Eh, Grace?” 

Grace Harlowe nodded. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 33 


“You see?” she questioned, regarding her 
husband smilingly. “It is my suggestion that 
we prepare for a blow, take our blankets out 
of the packs and relash the packs. These 
storms are frightful things. We encountered 
one when crossing the Great American Desert, 
and it nearly wiped us off the earth.” 

Tom, however, still persisted that they were 
needlessly alarmed, but deferred to their judg¬ 
ment. Supper was served soon after that. 
Arline sat down with them. Her face was pale 
and she was plainly worn out, but held herself 
up pluckily and forced herself to eat. When 
she was told that the tents would not be set up 
that night, but that she must sleep between 
two blankets on the ground, she was overcome. 

61 Oh, why did I ever come ? 9 9 she moaned. 

“Because you thought you knew how to 
breathe in harmony,” retorted Emma. “My 
dear, if you really will breathe in harmony all 
will be well with you. You must, however, 
first learn to do it. First, banish every unpleas¬ 
ant thought; breathe slowly and rhythmically, 
and, as you inhale, repeat to yourself, ‘I am 
Harmony/ until your whole body glows and 
your nerves tingle, and then you will know that 
you are harmonious, and you will radiate the 
spirit of harmony, and the world will appear 
bright and beautiful even though it’s storming 

8—■—Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


34 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


like sixty. Come here, St. Petersburg.’’ 
Emma’s order was lost in a peal of merriment. 

“That isn’t kind of you, Emma,” rebuked 
Nora Wingate. 

“Ask Grace whether or not it is,” flung back 
Emma. “Lemuel, are you well and strong and 
vital?” she demanded, fixing her gaze on him. 

“Ah reckon as Ah be, Missie.” 

“Have you health, strength, happiness and 
prosperity?” 

“Ah, Ah reckon as Ah be.” 

“You radiate radiance to all about you, 
don’t you?” 

Lemuel stammered, gulped and replied that 
he didn’t know. 

“But you breathe in harmony, don’t you?” 

“Ah doan’ know, Missie.” 

“You see, Arline and Grace. He breathes in 
harmony and doesn’t know it. Isn’t that in¬ 
finitely better than thinking that you breathe 
in harmony, but don’t? St. Petersburg, how 
old are you?” continued Emma without giving 
their guide an opportunity to reply. 

“Ah doan’ know, Missie.” 

“You don’t know. Don’t you know when 
you were born?” 

Lemuel shook his head. 

“Ah doan’ reckons as Ah do. Ah was nevah 
horned.” 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 35 


‘‘What?” demanded the Overlanders in 
amazement, for there could be no doubt about 
the boy’s being in earnest. 

“How is that?” demanded Emma. 

“Ah wasn’t horned—Ah had er step¬ 
mother. ’ ’ 

Arline joined in the laughter that followed, 
though Emma did not. 

6 ‘ Emma, I think that ought to subdue you for 
a time, ’ ’ chuckled Hippy. 

“As a lawyer, a legal light, I declare the 
argument closed,” announced J. Elfreda Briggs 
in her most judicial voice. “And, by the way, 
the wind is rising, so I think I shall turn in and 
try to get some sleep before it gets worse. Be¬ 
sides, I am saddle weary.” 

Not all of the Overland Riders went to sleep. 
A few of them lay resting, but wide awake, 
listening to the fitful sighs of the wind, and to 
the occasional puffs of air that sent little eddies 
of dust spiralling upwards. A new sound sud¬ 
denly put at least two pairs of ears on the in¬ 
stant alert. This was a distant patting sound, 
as if someone were patting on a thick carpet 
with both hands. The sound seemed to be 
drawing nearer. 

“Tom!” called Hippy, who lay a few paces 
from him with feet towards the flickering em¬ 
bers of the campfire. 


36 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


‘ ‘ I hear it. Horses!’ 9 replied Tom Gray. 

4 4 Yes. And they are coming fast. I reckon 
they are trying to make the foothills before 
the storm breaks .’ 9 

i ‘ They are heading this way, Hippy, and I 
don’t like it,” announced Tom, rising on one 
elbow and listening. Both men instinctively 
reached for their rifles which lay near them. 

“Better lie down and pretend to be asleep,” 
advised Hippy. 

Two pairs of eyes observed the movements 
of the two men, Grace Harlowe’s and Elfreda 
Briggs’, but neither girl spoke. 

“They are coming!” warned Tom. 

Barely had the words passed his lips when 
the shadowy outlines of a body of horsemen 
swept into view bearing down on the camp. 
As they neared it they swerved just enough to 
clear it. Emma heard and sprang to her feet. 

“Lie down!” cried Grace. “Everyone keep 
down flat.” 

The spang, spang, spang of rifle bullets over 
the heads of the Overlanders made unnecessary 
further commands to lie flat. 

The horsemen swept past, and as they 
cleared the camp, they turned in their saddles 
and sent a hot fire of lead at it. Hippy and 
Tom unlimbered at the same time and emptied 
their magazines at the attackers. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 37 


The night riders responded with a volley of 
bullets fired so low that they snipped up the 
dirt of the Overland camp. Lemuel uttered a 
howl of terror. 

“Ah’s shot! Ah’s shot! Ah is!” yelled 
the boy. 

“Merciful Heaven! What is it?” cried 
Arline, springing to her feet. 

Grace and Elfreda pulled her down by main 
strength. 

“What is it? Let me go!” she screamed, 
struggling to get away from them. 

“Thi—is is life!” chattered Emma, herself 
on the verge of giving way to her fright. 
“You—you wanted life. Here it i—is. Just 
br—br—breathe in harmony and no harm can 
be—fall you.” 

“There they go again! Look out for your¬ 
selves,” shouted Tom warningly as a fresh 
burst of lead sprayed over them. 

Then the storm broke—the storm that Grace 
and Hippy had foreseen. The glassy yellow 
sky had turned to blackness, and billows of 
inky clouds were rolling down on them, and the 
swirling gale was lapping up the sand as it 
rolled on. Then it engulfed the camp of the 
Overland Riders with a roar, filling the air 
with suffocating dust, leaving the Overlanders 
gasping for breath. 


38 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER III 

LEMUEL SAVES HIS HAT 

€t OLL yourselves up in your blankets!” 

shouted Miss Briggs, but her voice 
was lost in the roaring gale. Its 
fury was increasing with the seconds. It was 
each one for himself now, for none could do 
anything for his companions. 

Each member of the party had buried him¬ 
self in his blankets, but despite this protection 
sand sifted through. Most of the party had ex¬ 
perienced sand storms before and knew what 
to expect, but those who had not were con¬ 
cerned beyond the discomforts of the moment. 

The storm lasted for only a few minutes, but 
those minutes seemed hours, and when it 
passed a cool breeze, almost chilling, followed 
in its wake. When the Overlanders who were 
able to do so got up on their feet and realized 
that the storm had passed, they found Stacy 
lying in a hollow several feet deep and soaldng 
wet. The wind had bared a water hole, and 
Stacy had rolled into it. Grace, Elfreda and 
Arline [were buried under a mass of sand that 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 39 


had almost suffocated them when Tom came to 
their assistance. Grace and Elfreda had suc¬ 
ceeded in uncovering their faces, but Arline 
was not so fortunate, and was unconscious 
when they hauled her out, but whether she had 
fainted from fright or from lack of air no one 
knew. 

“Tom! Where is Lemuel?” gasped Grace. 

“I’m searching for him,” called Hippy. 
“He was right here when I last saw him. 
L-e-m-u-e-1! ’ ’ 

“Heah,” answered a voice that sounded far 
away. 

“Are you all right V 9 cried Nora, herself 
considerably shaken from her experience. 

“Ah reckons Ah’s daid. I’se shot!” 

“I have him. Fetch a light, please,” di¬ 
rected Hippy, dragging the boy from a hollow 
in the sand. 

Tom hastened to him with a pocket lamp, 
followed by Grace, Emma and Nora, Elfreda 
being at the moment engaged in resuscitating 
Arline Thayer. 

‘ ‘ He has been hit! Oh, the poor boy! ’ ’ cried 
Nora. 

There was blood on Lemuel’s cheek and on 
his yellow tie, but the plug hat, now filled to 
the brim with sand, was tightly gripped in his 
hand. 


40 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Boss, Ah’s goin’ ter die. Whar dat mule?” 
wailed the boy. 

“He probably is emptying the water hole 
that I fell into,” answered Stacy, joining them 
at this juncture. 

“Shot, eh?” chuckled Hippy, drawing some¬ 
thing from the guide ’s cheek, a proceeding that 
drew an unearthly howl from him. “Stop it! 
Don’t be such a baby. You haven’t been shot. 
Look! A stem of greasewood, probably 
snipped off by a bullet, scratched his cheek,” 
he added, holding up the stick for the inspection 
of his companions. “Get up! You’re all 
right. Grace, ask Elfreda to wash the scratch 
with antiseptic solution.” 

“Elfreda is taking care of Arline. I will 
attend to the boy,” replied Grace. “Tom, 
hadn’t you better look for the horses?” 

The two men, accompanied by Stacy, set out 
to search for their mounts. As Stacy had sur¬ 
mised, Lemuel’s mule was in the water hole 
which he had trampled into a huge pie and was 
now rolling in it. The mule’s body was al¬ 
ready well plastered with the sticky mess. 
They left the mule and hastened on to look for 
their mustangs, but failed to find a single one 
of them. 

c6 That settles it!” growled Tom Gray. “We 
shall have to hoof it back to Carlos.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 41 


Hippy Wingate was inclined to differ with 
him. It was his opinion that at least some of 
the animals would be found, and even if only 
one were left, the Overlanders would be en¬ 
abled to send a rider out to look for the other 
missing ponies. The three men circled about 
the camp for more than an hour without find¬ 
ing a trace of a single mustang, and when 
Stacy proposed that they return to camp and 
get something to eat, they decided that that 
would be the most sensible thing to do in the 
circumstances. 

“I have found one pack. We have saved 
all the blankets,’’ announced Grace upon the 
return of the men. “Lemuel has recovered 
from his fright and is now trying to induce the 
mule to come out of the water hole, ’’ she added 
laughingly. 

Tom gathered some sticks and soon had a 
small fire going, which was most welcome, for 
the girls were shivering in the cool air that had 
followed the storm. They were solemn when 
informed that no trace of the mustangs had 
been found. Tea, however, warmed the party 
and stimulated their spirits, and then a more 
thorough search was made for their equipment 
which was finally found. Hippy and Tom then 
went out on another search for the missing 
ponies, but without result. It was finally de- 


42 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


cided to await daylight, so all hands turned in 
for a few hours’ sleep. They awakened with 
the sun in their eyes and the sound of Lemuel’s 
voice, raised in song, in their ears, as he worked 
over the mule. A sudden shout from him 
brought the Overlanders to their feet. 

“Dar dey come!” he yelled, and, to the 
amazement of the Overland Riders, the mus¬ 
tangs were discovered trotting towards the 
camp, brought back by thirst. 

“The mustangs are breathing in harmony,” 
averred Emma. “Arline, let this be a lesson 
to you. Take a lesson from the mule and the 
mustangs.” 

Arline made no reply, but she looked at 
Grace appealingly, which significant action was 
not lost on Emma Dean. 

There was sand in the food that morning and 
bitterness in the coffee, and, though Arline 
Thayer no longer complained, the expression 
on her face indicated her feelings. Arline was 
regretting bitterly that she had ever listened 
to the alluring stories she had heard so often 
of life in the open. 

As soon as possible after breakfast packs 
were shaken out and relashed, and the party 
resumed their journey. They had gone but a 
short distance ere Tom descried an object half 
buried in the sand a short way ahead. That 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 43 


object proved to be a dead pony. An investi¬ 
gation showed that the animal had been shot. 
A Mexican saddle and equipment was still on 
the dead animal’s back. Hippy looked at Tom 
and Tom looked at Hippy. 

“I wonder which one of ns shot the poor 
beast, ’ ’ mattered Hippy. 

“I wonder,” reflected Tom. “I wonder, too, 
why we were shot at. It doesn’t promise well, 
does it?” 

Hippy averred that it promised a great deal. 

The mountains were now drawing nearer, 
and the Riders soon began to encounter thickets 
of mesquite . Traveling became more difficult, 
but they knew that, once in the foothills of the 
mountains, they would be fairly free from it. 
The foothills were reached just before sun¬ 
down that day, but it was decided to press on 
until they found a desirable camping place. 
This they found before dark. The air was 
quite cool, fragrant with the familiar odor of 
mountain foliage, and most refreshing after 
the two days on the hot sandy plain. Camp 
was made and all hands began carrying water 
from a pool for much needed baths. Bathing 
in that cold water was chilly business and 
chattering voices were heard on all sides, but 
it put new life into every member of the party, 
Arline included. 


44 GRACE HARLOWE AND 

Lemuel soon had a snapping fire going and 
no time was lost in brewing tea and preparing 
supper. 

“We are all breathing in harmony once 
more,” observed Stacy solemnly. 

i 6 Then see to it that you do not get short of 
breath,” retorted Emma, which raised a laugh 
at the fat boy’s expense. 

After supper they got out their maps and 
began discussing their further journey. Lem¬ 
uel, who was supposed to be familiar with all 
that part of the country, exhibited a surpris¬ 
ing lack of knowledge of it, so there was no 
other way than to lay out their own trails and 
follow them as best they might. They were 
thus engaged when a hail from beyond the 
camp instantly banished thoughts of trails 
from mind. 

“Come in, stranger,” called Hippy. 

A tough little Mexican pony trotted into the 
camp. The rider, upon discovering that there 
were women in the party, swept off: his som¬ 
brero, a sombrero that was decorated with a 
horsehair band and silver ornaments. A bright 
silk scarf in which jewels flashed, a sparklingly 
embroidered vest, bright red sash and belt se¬ 
cured with a large silver buckle, added to the 
elegant appearance of the man. He wore 
diamond earrings and diamond rings. It was a 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 45 


startling change from what the Overland 
Riders had been accustomed to encountering. 
From the tops of his fringed, ornamented cha- 
parejos swung two heavy, silver-mounted re¬ 
volvers. 

The party gazed in amazement. 

“What is this—a comic opera that we have 
met up with ? ’ ’ wondered Emma in a voice that 
must have been plainly audible to their caller. 

The Mexican swung gracefully from his 
saddle and, stepping forward, made a sweeping 
bow to the Overland girls. 

“Senoritas, I greet you,” he murmured, 
fixing his black, shining eyes on Emma, who 
elevated her chin disdainfully, but made no 
reply. 

“What can we do for you?” asked Tom. 

“Much, senor, much; but of that more at 
another moment. These mountains seldom see 
senoritas so beautiful as these,” he added, 
with a wave of the hand that took in the girls 
of the Overland party. 

“Leave the senoritas ou*t of it, if you 
please,” retorted Hippy gruffly. “What is it 
you wish?” 

“I am Senor Gonzales, an honest rancher, 
and I would inquire who you are and what you 
do here,” he informed them. 

“You are welcome to an answer, though I do 


46 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


not see how onr affairs can concern yon in the 
least,’’ replied Tom Gray. 

“You’re one of those Mexican dandies that 
occasionally blow across the Rio Grande look¬ 
ing for trouble, aren’t you?” spoke up Stacy. 

‘‘Be quiet,’’ rebuked Miss Briggs. “I do not 
like the fellow any more than you do, but let 
us discover what he wants.” 

Hippy told him who and what the Overland 
party was, at the same time recalling what Tom 
Bainbridge had told him before they set out on 
their ride. 

“Is your name Carlos Gonzales?” ques¬ 
tioned Tom. 

“The same. You have heard, senor?” 

“I have heard the name, but in just what 
connection I can’t at the moment recall.” 

“It will give me pleasure to have the ladies 
call and accept my hospitality. My ranch is at 
the other end of the Davis Range. When may 
I look for the ladies to bring joy and grace to 
my humble ranch home ? ’ ’ 

“We thank you, but we are not making 
calls,” answered Tom, who, like his compan¬ 
ions, felt an instinctive aversion to the polite 
but shifty-eyed Mexican rancher. “Is there 
anything else that we can do for you?” 

“Ni, Senor. Much.” 

“Well, what is it?” demanded Hippy. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 47 


“Last night as certain of my friends—my 
ranchmen—were hurrying to my home, they 
were fired upon by a party camped on the 
plain. A horse was killed and a man wounded. 
Senor, what have you to say to that ? 9 9 

i ‘ So, that’s the game, is it V 9 growled Hippy. 
“Well, what about it!” 

“The senors, with a thousand apologies to 
the senoritas, will of course pay for the animal 
they shot,” suggested the Mexican. 

“We will not. You surely have nerve. 
Listen! Your men, if that is the party you 
refer to, fired on our camp, not once, but several 
times. We naturally fired back. I am of 
course sorry that we shot a horse. It wasn’t 
the horse that fired on us. Next time we shall 
see that it isn’t a horse that is hit.” 

“That is not as they tell the story to me, 
Senor. The attack was unprovoked. You 
shall pay. I will see that you do,” warned 
Gonzales. 

“How?” interjected Elfreda Briggs, whose 
legal training impelled her to get into the ar¬ 
gument. 

“The law, Senorita. I shall implore the 
assistance of the law and—” 

“Try it!” fairly shouted Hippy Wingate. 
“Now get out of this! And listen! Next time 
your ranchmen pass our camp advise them to 


48 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


keep their rifles in the saddle-boots. Please 
move. We need the room yon are taking np 
here. Skip!” 

The Mexican was abont to speak, when 
Lemuel St. Petersburg Johnson entered the 
scene, wearing his plug hat set at a jaunty 
angle, the yellow tie spread out over his shirt 
to give the best possible effect. Lemuel could 
not resist the temptation to exhibit his raiment 
to the Mexican dandy. 

The scowl that had wrinkled Gonzales’ face 
faded, giving place to an expression of amuse¬ 
ment. His eyes sparkled and snapped, and a 
gleam shot from them—a gleam that might 
have meant the reflection of any one of several 
emotions. Stacy Brown haw-hawed, and grins 
appeared on the faces of some of his compan¬ 
ions, for the sight and the effect on the Mexican 
were both laughable. 

Lemuel had strolled the entire length of the 
open space in which the camp was located, and 
a moment more would be out of sight in the 
bushes when an interruption occurred that for 
the moment startled the Overlanders into a 
condition of amazement. 

With a speed that they had seen exhibited 
only a few times in their wanderings in the 
wilder parts of the country, they saw the Mex¬ 
ican flash out his revolver and fire as he raised 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 49 


it. The bullet hit Lemuel’s plug hat and sent 
it spinning to the ground. The boy uttered a 
yell, just as a second bullet hit the hat before 
it had stopped rolling. 

Hippy was the nearest to Gonzales, and he 
saw that the fellow had accomplished exactly 
what he sought to do when he fired. Gonzales 
sheathed his weapon and the bold, mocking 
black eyes turned towards him did not serve to 
temper Hippy’s rage. 

“Pardon, Senor,” begged the Mexican with 
a profound bow. 

“Pardon, Senor,” mocked Hippy Wingate, 
and at the same instant his fist shot out, 
catching Senor Gonzales on the point of the 
jaw, lifting the Mexican dandy clear of the 
ground, on which he collapsed unconscious. 


'Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


50 GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER IV 

CALLERS DROP IN' 

u ^“>| ET his guns!” It was Grace Har- 
^ y lowe’s voice, pitched high and shrill. 

Hippy Wingate sprang forward 
and snatched both weapons from the prostrate 
man’s holsters. He then ran his fingers over 
Gonzales 9 body in search of other weapons, but 
only a pair of long knives was fonnd. These 
the Overlander did not disturb, considering 
that revolvers in his own hands would more 
than offset the knives. After “breaking ’ 9 the 
revolvers and ejecting the cartridges, Hippy 
replaced the weapons in their holsters just as 
the Mexican began to come to. 

Carlos, observed curiously by the Overland 
Riders, twisted his head cautiously from side 
to side and finding that he could do so, slowly 
raised himself on one elbow and gazed at the 
spectators of his humiliation. Hippy Win¬ 
gate finally assisted him to his feet and stepped 
back. 

“ Pardon, senoritas,” bowed Carlos, whose 
pale face accentuated the blackness of his eyes. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 51 


“Senor,” he added, turning to Hippy who 
stood with arms folded, narrowly watching the 
man. “You have insulted—you have given in¬ 
sult that no man can give to Carlos Gonzales 
and live!’ ’ 

“Get out before I kick you out!” retorted 
Hippy savagely. “I have met up with your 
kind before, and they are all as yellow as the 
sky was last night before the storm. Are you 
going?” 

“Yes!” The Mexican’s weapons flashed 
from their holsters, and the sharp metallic ring 
of hammers on empty chambers was heard as 
he pulled the triggers of both revolvers. 

Arline Thayer screamed and swooned. She 
did not know that the weapons were now as 
harmless as a pair of toy pistols. Neither did 
the Mexican know that. After snapping each 
revolver at least six times he understood. 

“Bah!” he cried. “For this you shall die! 
Adios, senoritas. Adios — Manana, Senor!” 
he added explosively, and sneering at Hippy 
he turned and mounted his horse. 

“Don’t stop. Keep on going,” advised Tom 
Gray. 

The instant the Mexican had passed out of 
the light of the campfire, Hippy ran out to pro¬ 
tect himself and his companions from what he 
felt was certain to follow. As he reached the 


52 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


shadow of the bush he heard the creak of a 
saddle and knew that a horse was close at hand, 
though motionless. The creak, as he rightly 
deduced, was caused by a man mounting or 
dismounting, and a cautious step a moment 
later told him that Gonzales had got down from 
his horse and was creeping towards the camp. 

Hippy crouched down behind a tree and 
waited, but barely had he taken that position 
ere the figure of the Mexican was outlined less 
than a dozen paces from him. 

“Mr. Man! Get back to your horse before 
I plug you!” warned the Overlander. “Hit 
the trail and hit it hard or—’ ’ 

“Bang, bang!” 

Hippy heard the whistle of a bullet over the 
bush behind which he was hiding, but the 
second bullet evidently went wild, for he did 
not hear it. He answered the shots by firing 
low three times in quick succession. A 
smothered exclamation, a man floundering 
through the bushes, the crashing of a horse as 
it was spurred through the scattering clumps 
of mesquite, told the rest of the story. Gon¬ 
zales had taken a hurried departure, but 
whether or not he carried one of Hippy’s bul¬ 
lets with him the Overlander did not know. 

“Hippy!” shouted Tom Gray. “Are you 
there!” 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 53 


“On both feet,” answered Hippy with a 
chuckle. 

“Di—id you kill him?” gasped Arline, turn¬ 
ing a pale face towards Hippy as he stalked 
into camp. 

Hippy shook his head. 

“I hope we have heard the last of that cheap 
greaser,” he growled. “Do you know who 
that dude is? He is a fellow that Tom Bain- 
bridge warned me against before we started 
out. Gonzales is bad medicine.” 

“Huh! He’d better keep away from this 
camp,” threatened Stacy. 

“He didn’t know that you were here, little 
man,” soothed Emma. “I doubt his coming 
again, now that he knows we have you to guard 
us. Who is the fellow, anyway, Hippy?” 

“A rancher, I believe. You heard what he 
said. Tom, I think it will be wise to set a 
watch for the night. Gonzales might return 
with some of his friends. Suppose you and I 
stand guard.” 

“We must do so. The rest of the 1 party may 
turn in. Lemuel!” Tom’s tone was sharp. 

“Yes, sah.” 

“The next time we have callers, you will 
please not be so much in evidence. You nearly 
caused the death of yourself and Lieutenant 
Wingate, Don’t forget—’’ 


54 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Got a snack for a hungry man?” called a 
cheery voice from the shadows. 

The nerves of the Overland girls jumped at 
the sound of a strange voice, reassuring as it 
was. 

“Sure. Come on in,” answered Tom Gray 
cordially. 

The owner of the voice stepped briskly in 
and stood revealed in the light of the campfire, 
sweeping off his sombrero in deference to the 
women of the party. 

“It’s rather late, but then I see you are all 
wide awake. My name is McKay. I was rid¬ 
ing through, and seeing your fire, dropped in 
to beg a cup of coffee. I lost mine down in the 
mesquite . 9 9 

“Come right in, sir,” urged Grace. “We 
will have a fresh pot piping hot for you in a 
few moments. Lemuel, water, please. Step 
lively.’ 9 

While Grace was making coffee the stranger 
made himself at home by sitting down by the 
campfire, his blue laughing eyes and smiling 
face instantly attracting the favorable opinion 
of the Overland Riders. 

“As you are probably aware, ladies and 
gentlemen, it isn’t customary in this part of 
the country to be too inquisitive about who and 
what persons are, but if you wish to tell me 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 55 


about yourselves, you will satisfy my curi¬ 
osity.’ ’ 

Tom Gray introduced himself and the mem¬ 
bers of his party, adding that he had been a 
captain of engineers in the World War, and 
that Hippy Wingate had served as a fighting 
air pilot, and the girls of the party as ambu- 
lace drivers, hospital and Red Cross workers. 

‘‘ Miss Briggs, when at home,” he further ex¬ 
plained, “is a successful lawyer, but out in the 
open on our regular summer trips, she is just 
a good fellow.” 

“Thank you, Tom. That is quite the finest 
compliment you ever paid me, ’ ’ smiled Elfreda. 

“That is because we have company,” sug¬ 
gested Emma. “Mr. McKay, do you breathe 
in harmony?” 

“I don’t reckon that I rightly know what 
you mean, but maybe sometimes I don’t.” The 
lines about the mouth of the caller tightened 
ever so little and a new expression flashed into 
his eyes, which, in the next second, gave place 
to their former good-humored twinkle. “No, I 
don’t reckon that I always breathe in harmony. 
.Where do you folks plan to ride?” he added, 
sipping a cup of steaming coffee. 

“Through the Guadalupes—anywhere that 
our ponies see fit to carry us,” Hippy informed 
the caller. 


56 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


c t Guadalupes, eh ? Captain Gray, do I under¬ 
stand you to say that you are a government 
agent ?” 

“I shouldn’t call it that. I am a forester, 
and for some time have been making forestry 
surveys for the government. That is the busi¬ 
ness side of my visit here.” 

“Hm-m-m! Say anything about it back 
there ?” questioned McKay, with a jerk of the 
head in the direction whence they had come. 

“Why, perhaps I may have said something 
of the sort to Tom Bainbridge. There need be 
no secrecy about my mission, you know. Why 
do you ask that question, Mr. McKay?” 

“Curiosity perhaps. You see I am a curious 
fellow—in some directions. Some persons 
might call me nosey. Maybe I am, so we’ll let 
it go at that. Seen any strangers since you got 
into the mountains?” The caller’s twinkling 
eyes regarded the Overlanders in a swift com¬ 
prehensive glance. 

The members of the party were silent, until 
Tom stepped in with a question. 

“Do you know a man named Gonzales?” he 
asked. 

“I’ve heard of him,” replied McKay rather 
grimly, they thought. 

“What sort of man is he?” persisted Tom. 

“I reckon you know the answer to that ques- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 57 


tion already, Captain Gray,” was the laughing 
reply, and the Overlanders joined in the laugh¬ 
ter. Their laughter, however, abruptly ceased 
as they noticed a swift change pass over the 
face of their caller. McKay rose slowly, and it 
was observed that one hand slid cautiously to 
the revolver that swung at his hip. 

“What is it?” whispered Grace Harlowe. 

There was no reply. McKay’s every faculty 
seemed concentrated on something beyond the 
camp, but, whatever it was, it was hidden from 
sight in the mesquite. 

A shrill cry of terror broke the silence. The 
Overlanders’ hands went to their weapons. 

“ Don’t shoot! The boy’s out there, ’ ’ warned 
McKay. “I reckon—” 

Two revolver shots just outside the camp 
followed by another yell of terror, sent the 
caller bounding towards the scene. 

“Stay where you are!” he flung back to the 
Overland party. 

Tom and Hippy started to follow McKay, but 
halted as they met the colored boy staggering 
into camp. Lemuel uttered a moan and col¬ 
lapsed at their feet. Then out in the mesquite 
a rattling fire sprang up and the spang of re¬ 
volver bullets was heard close at hand. 

“Let’s go!” shouted Hippy, taking the lead 
and starting at a run for the mesquite. 


58 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER y 

THE UNINVITED GUEST 

S TACY BROWN, uttering a whoop, fol¬ 
lowed the two men out of camp, which 
was not like him at all, for Stacy ordi¬ 
narily sought safe cover in moments of peril. 
Arline had collapsed and lay trembling with 
fright. Grace, Elfreda and Emma, however, 
ran to Lemuel who lay stretched out on the 
ground. 

They found him unconscious. 

1 ‘Is—is he shot?” begged Emma anxiously. 
“I don’t know,” answered Grace briefly. 
“Keep down. There may be more shooting.” 

“He has a big lump on his head,” announced 
Miss Briggs. 

A scattering fire of revolver shots caused 
the girls to crouch lower, but they did not hesi¬ 
tate, and Grace and Elfreda continued their 
examination of the boy with calmness and effi¬ 
ciency. 

“I find no bullet wound,” finally announced 
Miss Briggs. “He has been hit over the head 
>vith something.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 59 


The firing stopped almost instantly, and a 
few moments later, Tom and Hippy returned. 
At the edge of the camp they fell over Stacy 
Brown who lay flat on the ground. He had 
gone but a few yards before seeking cover and 
there he had remained until the end of the 
shooting. 

“Get up. It’s all over,” announced Hippy 
sarcastically. “Is anything the matter with 
Lemuel?” he called as they stepped into camp. 

“Yes. He has been hurt,” answered Grace. 

“Shot?” cried Tom. 

“No. What happened out there?” 

“We don’t know. There was shooting, but 
who did it, except for one shot we saw McKay 
fire, we do not know.” 

The two men bent over and regarded Lemuel 
anxiously. As they looked, he opened his eyes 
and rolled the whites of them from side to side. 

“WTha—whar dat hat?” he begged anxiously. 

“Never mind the hat. What happened to 
you?” demanded Tom Gray. 

“Ah wants mah hat,” insisted Lemuel. 

“Stacy, go find the boy’s hat,” requested 
Emma. 

“WRat? Go out there? I will not,” an¬ 
swered the fat Stacy. 

Emma started for the mesquite, her chin ele¬ 
vated disdainfully. 


60 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Here, here!” cried Tom. “You mustn’t.” 

“You come back here, Emma Dean!” com¬ 
manded Hippy. “The hat will keep until I can 
get it for him. What I wish to know is what 
hit the boy. Lemuel, if you feel able to talk, 
tell us what happened to you. Then I will see 
if I can find your hat.” 

Lemuel sat up, swaying a little. Miss Briggs 
gave him a drink of water, at the same time 
supporting him with one hand. 

“Ah was waterin’ dat mule when er feller 
grabbed me. Ah got ’way from him. He fol- 
lered me and hit me er clip on de haid. Ah 
don’t reckon Ah knows much mo ah ’bout what 
happened. Ah thought it was dat fool mule dat 
had kicked me.” 

“How many men did you see?” interrupted 
Tom Gray. 

“Ah didn’t see nobody. Ah felt somebody, 
dat’s all. Is Ah goin’ to die?” 

“No such luck,” grumbled Stacy. 

“Chunky!” rebuked Nora Wingate. “I am 
ashamed of you.” 

Lemuel was placed on a blanket near the fire 
and told to stay there, and while the others 
were discussing the incidents of the evening, 
Miss Briggs continued to treat the swelling on 
the colored boy’s head. Arline joined the 
group, pale and trembling. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 61 


“How—how long is this terrible excitement 
going to continuer’ she questioned with chat¬ 
tering teeth. 

“Why, dear, it hasn’t begun,” replied 
Emma. “Just breathe in harmony and you 
won’t mind these little interruptions.” 

“Please don’t,” begged Nora. “You are un¬ 
kind.” 

“There are others,” observed Miss Dean 
airily. “What became of Mr. McKay?” 

Tom said that he didn’t know. The last they 
saw of their caller, he said, was when McKay 
was shooting at someone in the mesquite. All 
agreed that McKay was something of a mys¬ 
tery. Who and what he might be, none could 
even guess. However, turning to the demands 
of the present, it was decided that their camp 
must be guarded all night. Lieutenant Hippy 
Wingate offered to stand guard for the night. 
Stacy volunteered to take the watch after day¬ 
light, which offer brought derisive laughter 
from his companions. 

“Of one thing, I am certain,” announced 
Emma. “That Mexican dandy is the person 
who has caused this trouble for us. I knew he 
would come back.” 

“Only fools are sure,” observed Stacy 
wisely. 

“Stacy!” cried the girls. 


62 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


“Are you sure of that?” questioned Emma 

sweetly. 

“Of course I am. I—” Stacy hesitated, 
and his further retort was lost in the laughter 
of his companions. 

“I reckon that will hold you for a time, 
young man,” reminded Hippy. “I would sug¬ 
gest that you folks turn in and get some sleep. 
Better look at St. Petersburg’s head, Elfreda. 
In the meantime I will see if I can find his 
hat.” 

While preparations for the night were being 
made, Tom and Hippy went out to look for the 
lost hat, and at the same time to see that the 
ponies were secure for the night. The two men 
also were concerned for the safety of the camp. 
Upon their return Grace confided to her hus¬ 
band that she was certain she had heard some¬ 
one moving about in the near distance. 

“Don’t speak of it to the girls, Grace,” said 
Tom. “Arline is on the verge of hysteria as it 
is. Hippy will keep a sharp lookout, and I 
would suggest that you girls turn in.. What do 
you think about Lemuel?” 

“Elfreda says that the boy had a narrow 
escape from a fractured skull, but thinks he 
will be all right by morning. Who do you sup¬ 
pose could have assaulted him?” 

Tom Gray said he had not the slightest idea. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 63 


Soon after that the Overlanders turned in and 
Lieutenant Wingate took up a position just 
outside the camp, standing guard alone, and 
the camp soon settled down to quietness, except 
that for the first half hour Tom Gray’s rest was 
disturbed by an occasional moan from Arline 
in the adjoining tent. Arline was having bad 
dreams. Later on she awakened with a start 
as the stillness of the night was split by the 
cry of a coyote, but soon fell asleep again. 

Hippy’s watch was several times disturbed 
by slight sounds. He was positive that he 
heard prowlers about, and the ponies at such 
times showed restlessness. He investigated 
each time, but without result. After a time the 
Overlander sat down and in a few moments was 
asleep. Going to sleep while on duty was one 
of Hippy’s failings. However, no harm 
resulted from his nap, and he and the other 
Overlanders were awakened with a jolt when 
Lemuel broke into song with the rising of the 
sun. Nora came out just as Hippy was get¬ 
ting to his feet. She regarded him narrowly. 

‘ 4 Hippy, you have been asleep,” she accused. 

“Just a wee cat nap,” admitted Lieutenant 
Wingate sheepishly. “Honest, I didn’t sleep 
all the night.” 

“How do you know?” demanded Emma, 
who, with her companions, had come out in time 


64 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


to hear the dialogue. The Overlanders laughed 
and Hippy’s face flushed. 

4 ‘Tom Gray, look what I found on your sad¬ 
dle,” interrupted Stacy on his return from a 
spring with a pail of water. “It’s a message 
addressed to you, Thomas. I haven’t read it, 
I never do read anything that isn’t addressed 
to me. I’m a model man,” chuckled the fat 
boy, nodding at Emma. 

“I agree with you, Stacy,” she said. “By 
the way, do you know what, according to the 
dictionary, a model young man is, little boy?” 

“Of course I do. A model is—well, a model 
is a model, that’s all.” 

“Wrong again. A model of anything is an 
imitation of the real thing.” 

“Kindly hand me the message,” requested 
Tom, as he reached for the bit of paper 
crumpled in the fat boy’s hand, and laughing 
at Emma Dean having again gotten the best of 
Stacy. 4 4 Hm-m-m, ’ ’ mused Tom as he frowned 
over the message. “I don’t know what to 
make of this. Perhaps some of you bright 
minds, and especially our lawyer-friend, J. 
Elfreda Briggs, may be able to get something 
out of it. Listen! I’ll read it: 

44 ‘Turn left and head towards the Rio 
Grande. The route you are following isn’t 
safe. Keep on as I say until you reach Vic- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 65 


toria Peak, then round into the Sierra Diablos. 
Danger the way yon are now headed.’” 

“Is there no name signed?” asked Grace. 

“Yes. ‘Willy.’ ” 

“Ha, ha!” exploded Stacy. No one gave 
heed to his levity. 

“It is my opinion that the writer is laying a 
trap for ns,” declared Lientenant Wingate. 

Grace disagreed with him. 

“To follow the writer’s directions wonld 
take ns a long way ont of onr conrse, wonld it 
not, Tom?” she asked. 

Tom Gray nodded. 

“Elfreda, what is yonr judgment?” 

“Not knowing what the writer’s motives may 
be, we might as well go on as we have planned. 
We are likely to get into difficulties either way, 
so what’s the odds?” 

“Oh, let’s go back,” begged Arline. “Let 
me go back. I shall die. I know I shall. I 
never can go through with it.” 

“Too late,” rumbled Stacy. 

“Be harmonious, Arline dear,” urged 
Emma. 

“Drop the nonsense! Let’s get down to 
business,” suggested Hippy. “All in favor of 
going on as planned, say so. Contrary, no.” 

The vote was for going on, Arline not voting. 
After breakfast the spirits of the party rose, 

5 - Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


66 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


and an hour later they were in the saddle pick¬ 
ing their way along, penetrating deeper and 
deeper into the mountains. Lemuel wore a big 
lump under his battered high hat, but the lump 
did not interfere with his singing, which he 
kept up all the morning until the Overlanders, 
wearying of it, told him to stop. 

“Yes. For goodness’ sake give the birds a 
chance,” begged Emma Dean. 

“Do not sing any more to-day. We don’t 
wish to give notice that we are here,” added 
Tom Gray in a tone intended only for the ears 
of the colored boy. 

Up to the time they went into camp that 
night, they had seen only one human being and 
that was a Mexican, an aged man, who lived 
alone in a shack in the mountains, and who 
begged some bacon from them. Camp was 
made in a rather dense thicket of mesquite and 
pines, and, for the first time on this journey, 
the tents were pitched. 

In making camp, a big diamond-back rattle¬ 
snake was turned out from his resting place, 
notice of the occurrence being given by a shout 
from St. Petersburg Johnson, who stood at a 
safe distance from the scene while Hippy Win¬ 
gate fired six shots at the angry serpent before 
the rattler was finished. 

Arline declared that she wouldn’t dare go to 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 67 


bed in that awful place. Emma suggested that 
she tie a pillow to the back of her head and 
sleep standing np against a tree. 

“ You are all afraid, bnt you won’t own up to 
it,” accused Arline. “Lemuel, you will con¬ 
fess, I know. You are afraid of rattlesnakes, 
aren’t you?” 

“Wal, Missie, Ah ain’t zactly ’feard of ’em, 
but when one of them fellers gits nervous in his 
tail Ah gits de same way in mah feet right 
smart.” 

It was observed that the Overlanders took 
more than ordinary caution that night to see 
to it that there were no lurking serpents in 
their tents, and at least one of them spent a 
restless night, with murmurings and dreams of 
snakes. Hippy and Tom stood watch until 
three o’clock in the morning, after which they 
routed out Stacy Brown and made him take the 
watch for the remaining few hours before day¬ 
light. Stacy went out grumblingly, stirred up 
the campfire, lay down beside it and promptly 
went to sleep, tightly rolled in his blanket. 

It was early morning when he awakened, and 
the sun was well up, but the rest of the Over¬ 
land party were still sound asleep. Stacy 
grumbled because he had awakened so early, 
but was too sleepy to wonder what it was that 
had caused him to awaken. Ordinarily some 


68 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


violence was necessary to bring him back to 
morning consciousness. The boy turned over 
for another nap, then suddenly sat up. 

“Wha—at!” he muttered. 

Beside him, so near that he could reach out 
and touch it, there lay an object that had not 
been there when he turned in for another nap. 
That object, he discovered, after rubbing his 
eyes, was a man—a stranger—comfortably 
rolled in a much worn blanket and sound 
asleep. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 69 


CHAPTER VI 

STACY MAKES A CAPTURE 

S TACY BROWN, unable to believe the evi¬ 
dence of his own eyes, blinked and 
blinked. The man before him, whose 
head and shoulders only were observable above 
the faded blanket, was plainly an old man. 
His hair was graying, his face and forehead 
wrinkled and weatherbeaten. He was appar¬ 
ently sound asleep. 

“I’ll bet he’s one of those mountain ban¬ 
dits,” muttered Stacy. “I’ll show him and the 
Overlanders that Stacy Brown is on the job.” 
Stacy cautiously drew his revolver from its 
holster, and thrusting it close to the head of the 
sleeping man gave him a poke with his free 
hand. 

The stranger grunted, opened his eyes and 
peered up at the red face of the fat boy. 

“You keep still or it’ll be the worse for 
you!” warned Stacy as savagely as he knew 
how. 

The stranger half raised himself on one el¬ 
bow, keeping his eyes fixed on the flushed face 


70 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


above him, then his eyes slowly traveled to the 
revolver that was hovering close to his face. 
He leaned forward ever so little, sniffed the 
muzzle of the weapon, then, uttering a grunt, 
sank back with closed eyes and apparently went 
to sleep. 

44 Overlanders!’ ’ shouted Stacy after recover¬ 
ing from his amazement. 

They responded on the run, rubbing the 
sleep from their eyes as they emerged from 
their tents, Hippy and Tom in the lead. 

“What is it!” shouted Lieutenant Wingate. 
“Where are you?” 

44 Here, ’’ answered Stacy. “I’ve got one this 
time. Hurry before I finish him.” 

44 What’s this? What’s this?” demanded 
Hippy as he strode up to the scene and halted, 
gazing down at the stranger. 4 4 Put away that 
gun!” he commanded. 44 A gun in your hands 
is dangerous to everyone, including yourself. 
Put it away, I tell you!” 

44 But he will get away,” protested Stacy. 

44 Not just yet he won’t. Here, Tom, will you 
look at this?” he urged as Tom Gray joined 
him. 4 4 Stacy has made a capture, but the cap¬ 
tive doesn’t appear to be deeply concerned over 
it. Wake up!” he ordered, giving the man a 
shake. 

Stacy Brown very reluctantly returned his 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 71 


weapon to its holster, hut stubbornly held his 
position. The man opened his eyes and looked 
up at the faces of the entire Overland party, 
that had now reached the scene. 

“Get up, please, and let us have a look at 
you,” directed Tom Gray. 

The caller slowly unrolled himself from his 
blanket, sat up, smoothed down his long gray 
whiskers and stroked his hair. 

“Mornin’, folks,” he greeted. 

“Now, Mister Man, give an account of your¬ 
self. Who and what are you, and what are 
you doing here?” demanded Hippy. 

“Name’s Belden—Crazy Bill Belden they 
calls me, ’cause I’ve been lookin’ fer gold in 
these heah hills fer a good part o’ my life. 
Who be ye?” 

“We are the Overland Riders, out for our 
summer’s vacation,” Tom Gray informed the 
man. “You haven’t explained how you 
chanced to come here.” 

“I seen your fire and reckoned as you 
wouldn’t object to a feller warmin’ his feet 
and takin’ a sleep. I reckoned as this heah 
outfit was all right when I seen this little fel¬ 
ler asleep. He looked so purty and innocent 
like that Crazy Bill said as no harm—” 

The old prospector’s words were lost in the 
laughter that followed at the fat boy’s expense. 


72 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“ Little feller, I warns ye to be a leetle bit 
keerful of weapons. They ain’t safe in the 
hands o’ children.” 

Stacy Brown’s face went crimson. 

“Don’t yon talk to me that way or you’ll be 
sorry,” warned Stacy. “I am not a child, and 
when I am stirred up I’m a bad man.” 

“Jest so, jest so,” nodded the man. “They 
aire the most dangerous kind. Ye see, when 
they aire stirred up, as the little feller says, 
they ain’t responsible fer what they does. Any 
objection to my cookin’ a snack fer myself over 
yer fire?” 

“No objection whatever,” answered Grace, 
stepping forward. “You need not cook any¬ 
thing, though. You may have breakfast with 
us.” 

; “Thankee. I reckons I’ll make my own 
chuck. Ain’t rightly wishin’ to eat other folks’ 
food. There’s them as would pizen me that 
way if they could. ’ ’ 

1 ‘ As you wish. You are welcome to join us, ’ ’ 
replied Grace smilingly. 

Stacy Brown did not smile. A frown 
wrinkled his face. He was angry, but he found 
no adequate words to express his resentment. 

“Run along, little boy, and fetch water for 
breakfast. You will forget your worries at the 
sight of a nice warm breakfast,” promised 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 73 

Emma Dean. ‘ ‘ Make your toilet first, of 

course.” 

“Better take your advice to yourself,” flung 
back Stacy. “Your face is dirty.” 

“Stacy!” rebuked Nora Wingate. 

“Dirt? Little man, do you know what dirt 
is?” questioned Emma sweetly. 

i ‘ Of course I do. Dirt is dirt , 9 9 grumbled the 
fat boy. 

“Wrong as usual. Little boy, dirt is merely 
misplaced matter. Now run along like a good 
little man.” 

Stacy fairly flung himself from the presence 
of the Overlanders, and stamped off to the 
spring to wash and fetch water for the morn¬ 
ing coffee. In the meantime Crazy Bill had 
gotten up and rolled his blanket into a neat 
pack, which he placed beside the fire and sat 
down on it. He then spitted several slices of 
bacon on a sharp stick and held them to the 
fire. While the bacon was toasting he helped 
himself to water that Stacy had brought, and 
deftly put over his coffee in a battered old pot 
that looked as if it had been in service for a 
generation. 

The Overlanders were amused as well as in¬ 
terested in their uninvited guest. His skill in 
manipulating the cooking utensils would have 
done credit to a juggler, a skill generally 


74 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


possessed by mountaineers and experienced 
campers. They do several things at once with 
two hands, aiming to bring everything off the 
fire, piping hot, at the same time, ordinarily 
using a bed of hot coals for the cooldng, unty¬ 
ing coffee and tea pouches, held between the 
knees, by using the teeth and making every 
movement count. The Overland Riders that 
day learned how an experienced outdoor chef 
prepared his victuals, and bombarded him with 
questions, few of which were answered. Bel- 
den evinced no inclination to talk, but devoted 
himself wholly to his breakfast. Finishing this, 
he lighted his pipe and puffed away reflectively. 

Immediately following their own breakfast, 
the Overlanders began lashing packs and mak¬ 
ing other preparations to resume their journey. 
Crazy Bill showed some interest in the way 
they struck camp and rolled packs, but was 
still puffing absently at his pipe when they 
finally saddled and bridled the horses and 
made ready to move. 

44 Shall we see you again, Mr. Belden?” asked 
Emma. 

“I reckon—I reckon mebby,” was the brief 
answer. 

The party mounted and rode away, waving 
good-byes, to which the old man gave not the 
slightest heed. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 75 

Lieutenant Wingate rode up beside Tom 
Gray. 

“What do you make of that fellow V’ he 
asked. 

“Not much of anything. He is something of 
a mystery, I should say.” 

“Just so,’’ agreed Hippy. 6 ‘I have a feeling 
in the back of my head that his call on us was 
not wholly without motive. Those faded gray 
eyes of his are as keen as a hawk’s when he 
permits them to be.” 

“We should worry. Probably we have seen 
the last of him,” returned Tom lightly. 

Hippy said he was not so positive on that 
point. In the meantime the girls were discuss¬ 
ing the same subject, and wondering, but with¬ 
out coming to a conclusion. 

The going was getting rougher, and Arline 
was complaining bitterly of the hardships, 
which she said she never could stand. Now 
and then Stacy would try to advise her, where¬ 
upon one of the girls would cry out, “Little 
feller, be a little bit keerful,” in the words of 
Crazy Bill Belden. Laughing and chatting 
they continued on over rugged slopes and 
through passes dense with mesquite, then on to 
the higher regions where the sun blazed down 
fiercely and leather creaked louder on the 
sweating mustangs. As yet, the warning of 


76 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Willy” had not been fulfilled, and they were 
beginning to think that they had done right in 
disregarding it. 

At noon that day the Riders gave their 
mounts a much-needed rest with saddles and 
packs thrown off. Later in the day the same 
old search for a suitable camping place was 
begun. A mountain stream in a narrow pass 
invited them to follow along its course until 
they came out on a level stretch that promised 
an ideal camping site. 

‘‘Here is the place,” cried Tom. “It isn’t 
down on my map, but perhaps it isn’t on any 
one else’s map either. All the better, eh, 
Hippy?” 

“Sure. Whoa! I smell smoke,” announced 
the Overland Rider. “Thomas, there is some¬ 
thing wrong about that map of yours.” 

“Yes, it really is smoke,” agreed Grace. 
‘ ‘ Stacy, ride into the breeze and see if you can 
find our neighbors. ’ ’ 

Stacy declined with thanks, declaring that 
curiosity was a bad thing to be possessed of 
when traveling in wild sections. 

“We will make camp and then look about,” 
said Hippy. 

The girls, however, were for riding on a 
little farther until they found a spot where 
there was less mesquite, so they walked their 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 77 


ponies along the edge of the stream, glancing 
about for a favorable spot to pitch their tents. 
They came to an abrupt halt as they saw 
Lieutenant Wingate suddenly rein in and peer 
off to the left. 

‘‘Well, I’ll be jiggered!” they heard him ex¬ 
claim. “Can you beat it?” 

“What is it, Hip?” called Tom Gray, start¬ 
ing towards his companion. 

“Come, have a look for yourself, Thomas.” 

Tom jogged up; then he too halted and gazed 
in amazement. The others were quickly lined 
up close behind the two men. 

“Look there, you folks,” chuckled Hippy, 
pointing to an open space of about half an acre 
in extent in the mesquite. 

The Overlanders gazed in amazement. 

“It’s Bill—Crazy Bill!” cried Nora. 

“You have guessed it, but how he came here 
ahead of us is more than I would attempt to 
guess,” declared Lieutenant Wingate. 

The old prospector had made camp—that is, 
he had opened his pack and built a cook fire, 
over which he was frying slices of bacon. 
Though not more than a dozen yards from 
where the Overland Riders were sitting their 
ponies, he gave no heed whatever to them. It 
was as if he were wholly unaware of their 
presence. 


78 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


1 ‘ Hello, Bill!’ ’ shouted Stacy Brown. 

“Evenin',” answered Belden without look¬ 
ing up. His attention at the moment was cen¬ 
tered on keeping the bacon over the fire and at 
the same time lifting the coffee pot from it. 

“What a perfectly peaceful scene,” cried 
Arline enthusiastically. 

“Oh!” cried Nora. 

The coffee pot had suddenly left the hand of 
the old man, and at the same instant the heavy 
report of a rifle boomed and echoed in the 
mountains, but it was not until he had snatched 
up the coffee pot and the Overlanders saw its 
contents spurting from a hole on either side 
that they realized what had happened. A bul¬ 
let had gone clean through the pot and the 
coffee was running out. Bill clapped both 
hands over the holes, but the pot was so hot 
that he dropped it. 

‘ ‘ Dismount!’ ’ cried Hippy. 

“It has come,” groaned Elfreda Briggs. 

* ‘ Such a peaceful scene! ’ ’ exclaimed Emma. 

The Overlanders were out of their saddles 
ere the echoes of the rifle shot had died away, 
and were hurrying the animals to cover, Grace 
having pulled Arline Thayer from her horse to 
which the girl appeared to be frozen. 

“Keep out of sight, all of you!” commanded 
Tom Gray. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 79 


CHAPTER VII 

VOICES OF THE NIGHT 

N OT a sound broke the stillness of the 
mountain pass as the Overlanders 
stood listening, well screened from ob¬ 
servation. They had immediately set about 
tethering their ponies, but had not yet un¬ 
saddled them. 

“We might as well unpack,” finally an¬ 
nounced Hippy. 

“Do you think it is safe?” questioned Miss 
Briggs. 

“We will go out and see,” said Tom. 
“Hippy, are you with me?” 

“Sure I am.” 

The two men walked out into the open space 
and stood talking, plainly revealed to anyone 
who desired to take a shot at them. Nothing 
happened, so the men walked forward towards 
Belden. They were followed by the girls, Stacy 
and Arline timorously bringing up the rear. 

“Is—is there any danger?” begged Arline. 
“Not if you breathe in harmony,” answered 
Emma. 


80 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“It is my opinion that it was only a chance 
shot,” suggested Elfreda. “You will recall 
that the report of that rifle shot sounded as 
though it came from a distance. Mr. Belden, 
do you think there is danger out here?” she 
asked, as the party approached the old pros¬ 
pector. 

“Huh!” he grunted. Crazy Bill, in his 
efforts to save his coffee, had dropped the bacon 
into the fire, leaving him rationless and coffee¬ 
less. In his rage he had sat down and lighted 
his pipe which he was now sullenly puffing. 

“Never mind, Mr. Belden, you shall have 
supper with us,” consoled Grace. 

“Don’t want no supper,” growled the old 
man. 

“Surely you will have a cup of coffee.” 

“Don’t want no coffee,” persisted Belden 
stubbornly. 

“Who you-all reckons done shot dat coffee 
pot?” interjected Lemuel, who, with his plug 
hat held behind him to protect it, had edged up 
closer to the prospector, and to whom he had 
addressed the question. 

Belden made no reply other than a grunt. 

“Who done dat, Ah arsk you-all?” 

“Oh, shut up!” growled the prospector, 
which brought grins to the faces of the Over¬ 
landers. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 81 


“That will do for you, St. Petersburg,” re¬ 
buked Hippy. “What are you doing here, any¬ 
way? Get back there and unpack. Fetch the 
equipment to the edge of the clearing and get 
ready to make camp. We might as well settle 
our house before dark. Stacy, if you will be 
good enough to assist him I shall be obliged for 
the favor. I’ll be with you in a few moments* 
Tom, where shall we pitch the tents?” 

“I would suggest at the edge of the clearing. 
I do not believe that we are in the slightest 
danger of being disturbed to-night, but we must 
be on the alert.” 

Lieutenant Wingate said he agreed, and sug¬ 
gested that they fetch the provisions and have 
the girls start getting supper while the men 
made camp. Permission was asked of Belden to 
use his cook fire, which he granted with a grunt. 
For the following hour the camp of the Over¬ 
landers presented a busy scene, and, as twi¬ 
light settled, appetizing odors assailed their 
nostrils. The men had the tents erected, but 
before they finished getting the equipment in 
place the call to supper interrupted the work. 

“Come, now, Mr. Belden, sit in with us,” 
urged Hippy cordially. “Surely you aren’t 
going without your supper. ’ ’ 

“Don’t want no supper. This aire my camp 
and I kin do as I like, can’t I?” 

6 - Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


82 


GBACE HABLOWE AND 


‘‘Of course,” agreed Grace, 

6 ‘ Don ’t care what ye do. Let me alone, that’s 
all.” 

“Mr. Belden, you have a perfectly horrid 
disposition,’’ spoke up Emma. “The trouble 
with you is that you don’t breathe in harmony. 
You would be so much better off mentally were 
you to do so. Why not let Miss Thayer teach 
you how?” 

“Emma Dean! If you don’t stop I shall 
scream,” cried Arline. “I can’t stand it any 
longer, and I must make a confession or I’ll—” 

“This is no time for confessions, dear,” 
soothed Emma. “Just breathe in harmony 
and all will be well. Have a cup of coffee. 
There is nothing like coffee to make one breathe 
in harmony—and lay awake all night.” 

“Stop it, for the love of Mike!” begged 
Lieutenant Wingate laughingly. “Let us have 
peace, at least until we can get food in our 
stomachs. Between you two and our friend 
Crazy Bill Belden this is about the gloomiest 
outfit I have ever met up with.” 

“In view of the fact that you are a part of 
the outfit, why not set us jan example of real 
cheerfulness?” suggested Emma smilingly. 

‘ 4 Emma is right, Hippy, ’ ’ nodded Grace. ‘ 1 1 
think Mr. Belden will agree with that, won’t 
you, sir?” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 83. 


“Huh! Won’t agree with no thin 

“There, Hippy, he doesn’t agree with you— 
or perhaps he referred to Stacy when he said 
he wouldn’t agree with ‘nothin’,’ ” chattered 
Emma. 

“Please, please,” begged Miss Briggs, her 
voice barely being heard above the laughter 
that followed Emma’s keen-edged retort. 

However, the Overland Riders sat down to 
their supper in great good humor, a state of 
mind not shared by the prospector, who, all 
through the meal, sat stolidly puffing at his 
pipe and uttering not a word. Supper finished, 
all hands set to work to put the camp in order, 
a task that occupied only half an hour. 

Speculation as to the shot that had been fired 
was not participated in by Belden, who said 
nothing at all, but devoted himself to his stubby 
black pipe and his own surly reflections. 
Grace, hoping to placate him for the loss of his 
coffee pot, gave him one of their own. He did 
not even thank her for it, following which the 
Overlanders left him wholly out of their con¬ 
versation for some time. 

Later in the evening, as they sat about the 
campfire, three distinct rifle reports, with an 
interval between the second and third shots, 
put each member of the party on the keen 
alert. It was answered by three similar rifle 


.84 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


reports, though they evidently were much far¬ 
ther away. 

The Overland Riders looked at each other un- 
derstandingly. 

“A signal,’’ said Grace. 

“Yes,” agreed Hippy, with a nod. 

“A signal for what?” questioned Miss 
Thayer apprehensively. 

“For harmony,” chuckled Emma. 

All eyes were turned towards Belden, but he 
gave no indication of having heard the signal 
shots. No further disturbance occurred during 
the evening, and shortly after nine o’clock the 
Overlanders began to turn in, but it was ob¬ 
served that they went to bed with their clothes 
on. Tom and Hippy lay down by the campfire 
rolled in their blankets, and Crazy Bill Belden 
found a resting place at some distance from 
them in the shadows. The camp soon settled 
down to silence, which was soon broken by the 
long-drawn wail of a coyote, answered by 
others. The howls drew gradually nearer. 
Then the silence of the night was punctuated 
by a thrilling wail. 

Arline uttered a little cry of alarm. 

4 4 Oh, what was that ? ’ ’ she cried. 

“Sh-h-li-h! It’s the cry of the banshee,” 
chattered Nora. “I’ve often heard my mother 
tell about it. It foretells disaster—death per- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 85 


haps. Be brave, Arline. There is nothing 
that we can do to ward it off, unless it be to 
count. I have heard it said that counting up to 
one hundred, then counting one hundred back¬ 
wards, sometimes frightens the banshee. He is 
said not to like counting. ’’ 

1 ‘Count, Arline dear!” whispered Emma. 
“It may assist you to fill your soul with har¬ 
mony. 9 9 

“Will you girls please be quiet?” demanded 
Grace. “I am trying to get to sleep.” 

Silence reigned in the Overland tent for some 
moments. Then it was Grace Harlowe’s voice 
that first broke it. 

“What is that light?” she questioned, sitting 
up and pointing to a mountain peak some dis¬ 
tance to the westward of the camp. 

“It looks like a fire, and it appears to be 
flickering,” spoke up Elfreda. 

“Tom, are you awake?” called Grace. 
“What do you make of that?” she added, as 
her husband answered in the affirmative. 

“It seems to be a signal, but I can’t be cer¬ 
tain,” said Tom Gray. “Better go to sleep. 
If it is a signal it is too far away to be of any 
concern to us.” 

It was about two o ’clock in the morning when 
the camp was suddenly aroused by a hail. Tom 
and Hippy, both of whom had dozed off, were 


86 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


on their feet with a bound. The Overland 
girls were sitting up at the same instant, some 
of them startled into sudden alarm. 

“Hello! What do you want?” demanded 
Tom Gray. 

6 ‘ I reckons I want to talk with this heah out¬ 
fit,” answered a voice whose owner was not 
yet in view. 

“Come in, whoever you are,” answered 
Hippy. 

At this juncture Miss Briggs ran out and 
flung an armful of wood on the fire, which 
blazed up into a crackling, snapping flame that 
lighted up the camp in a moment. 

“Get back out of sight! Keep the girls out 
of it. I think we are up against it,” ordered 
Lieutenant Wingate, hitching his revolver hol¬ 
ster, and directing a quick glance of inquiry at 
Tom Gray. Hippy saw that Tom was ready 
for whatever might come. A glance in the di¬ 
rection of Crazy Bill Belden revealed that 
strange character stretched out on the ground 
loosely covered with his blanket, apparently 
sound asleep. 

A man rode into the clearing, followed by 
half a dozen horsemen. 

“Keep yer hands away from yer guns!” 
ordered the man in the lead. “I’ll wing the 
first feller that makes a move!” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 87. 


CHAPTER VIII 

CRAZY BELL WAKES TJP 

IRLS, the usual has begun,’’ announced 

1 -y Elfreda Briggs as she darted into the 
tent occupied by herself and compan¬ 
ions. * 4 Look out there and you will be con¬ 
vinced. 9 ’ 

A white man led the party that was entering 
the Overland camp. He was short and swarthy 
and his face wore a scowl that looked as if it 
might be habitual. He was heavily armed. 
Behind him rode Carlos Gonzales, resplendent 
in chaps and jewels, a sarcastic smile on his 
face, one hand resting on his revolver holster. 
Following Gonzales were four Mexicans, sup¬ 
posedly his vaqueros or cowboys. 

All this Tom Gray and Hippy Wingate took 
in at a glance, and realized that in all proba¬ 
bility they were facing a serious situation. The 
Overland girls were peering out anxiously, and 
from behind a tent the whites of Lemuel’s eyes 
might have been observed gazing fearfully at 
the Mexican rancher who had once shot the 
colored boy’s hat off. Stacy Brown had found 


88 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


refuge in the mesquite back of the camp and 
was manfully holding his position. 

“Well, what do you want?” demanded Tom 
Gray gruffly. 

“If it is trouble you are looking for, let her 
go,” urged Hippy. “Don’t start anything 
you can’t finish, though.” 

“I reckons we’ll finish all right,” growled the 
white man. 

“Very well. Now what is it? Who are you 
and what do you want?” demanded Tom. “It 
is your move.” 

“I reckons you don’t know me. I’m Pat 
Proll, an officer of the law, and I’ve come heah 
to make sartin inquiries ’bout sartin things 
that have happened since you folks been in the 
mountains.” He paused to note the effect of 
his words, but neither Tom nor Hippy spoke. 
“This gentleman swears that you shot one of 
his ponies dead and wounded a vaquero, and he 
reckons you’ve got to settle.” 

“We have nothing to settle for. If there is 
settling to be done that comic opera bandit is 
the one to do it,” jeered Lieutenant Wingate, 
nodding towards Gonzales. “It was his men 
who made an attack on us. Now what do you 
propose to do about it?” 

“Ain’t you goin’ to settle?” questioned 
Proll. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 89 


“Not in the way yon mean. We may settle 
in a different way if that cheap ruffian doesn’t 
hit the trail pretty lively.” 

‘‘ Then it’s my duty as an officer of the law to 
arrest yon. I—” 

“One moment, please!” It was Elfreda’s 
voice that interrupted the officer. 

Proll bowed awkwardly as she stepped for¬ 
ward, and Gonzales made one of his elaborate 
bows, sweeping his sombrero to the ground. 

“I am a lawyer and represent this party,” 
resumed Miss Briggs. “I desire to ask you a 
few questions. You say you are an officer!” 

“I be.” 

“What is your office!” 

“A Ranger—Texas Ranger. I reckons 
you’ve heard ’bout ’em. ’ ’ 

“Yes. Who is your chief!” 

“Why—er, I reckons—Miss, it don’t make 
no difference ’bout that at all. You git out of 
this and leave me to do my duty.” 

“Whom are you going to arrest!” 

“This feller,” answered the officer, pointing 
to Hippy. “He is the feller who shot the pony 
and one of Senor Gonzales’ vaqueros .” 

“What proof have you of that!” demanded 
Elfreda. 

“Well—I reckons Senor Gonzales will swear 
to it; then there’s them fellows with him heah 


90 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


who will swear that they seen this man do the 
shootin’.” 

“I don’t doubt it. From their looks it is my 
opinion that, to serve their own ends, they 
would swear to anything. I include Senor Gon¬ 
zales in the list. If that is all the proof you 
have I advise you to withdraw before you get 
into trouble yourself. This is poor business 
for a Ranger to be in, Mr. Proll. Rangers are 
honorable men—men who do not take the part 
of questionable characters such as these men 
are. To make an arrest will not only bring 
discredit on the organization that you claim to 
belong to, but surely will get you yourself into 
serious difficulties,” finished Miss Briggs 
evenly. 

“Do ye mean to say I ain’t ;what I say, a 
Ranger ? ’ ’ 

“Are you?” 

“I be and—” 

“Pat Proll, ye lie!” The voice was a 
thunderbolt. It startled the Overlanders as 
well as Proll and the men with him. Proll 
whirled, drawing as he turned. 

“Drop it!” 

The officer found himself looking into the 
muzzles of two revolvers, in the hands of Crazy 
Bill Belden. Proll lowered his weapon and 
peered. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 91 


“I don’t ’low no man to call me by that 
name, stranger, an’ bein’ as tbar’s plenty of 
guns ready to open np on ye, I don’t mind 
sayin’ that I fnst ask who ye be?” 

“Who be I? I’m the man that says yon ain’t 
no Ranger. I’m the man that says you’re only 
a cheap deputy sheriff an’ a bigger crook than 
this feller Gonzales, who ain’t got a straight 
hair in his head. I—” 

Two revolvers crashed almost at the same 
instant. Pat Proll dropped his weapon and 
grabbed his right hand with his left. A bullet 
had gone through the “deputy sheriff’s” gun 
hand, a bullet fired by Crazy Bill Belden. 

Like a flash the old prospector whirled and 
again his weapon spoke. This time it was 
aimed at Carlos Gonzales. The Mexican leaped 
into the air, and sat down heavily, holding one 
foot in both hands and rocking back and forth. 

“Put up your hands, you fellows!” com¬ 
manded Lieutenant Wingate, as the vaqueros 
made a move to draw their weapons. * i Tom! ’ ’ 
Tom Gray’s revolver was out, and now both 
he and Hippy were menacing the Mexican ruf¬ 
fians. 

‘ 1 Ride forward, one at a time, you fellows! ’ ’ 
commanded Hippy. “Move! Bill, I’m going 
to disarm them. If you see one trying to play 
a trick on us let him have it quick! ’ ’ 


92 


GRACE HARLOWE 


“Ain’t goin’ to play no tricks heah,” an¬ 
swered Belden. 

A surly Mexican rode forward, and Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate took the man’s revolvers from 
their holsters, emptied the cartridges from 
them and replaced the weapons. He did the 
same with the rifle that stuck in the saddle- 
boot. This done he ordered the man aside and 
disarmed the next one. He continued with this 
until all the vaqueros had been disarmed, and 
Carlos Gonzales had once more been made help¬ 
less so far as weapons were concerned. 

Miss Briggs now stepped forward and took 
Proll’s hand. He snatched it from her. 

“Mr. Proll, I am going to dress your hand, 
so you had best hold still. After I have finished 
you are at liberty to do what you please with 
it. Will someone look after Senor Gonzales?” 

The “deputy sheriff” submitted scowlingly 
to Elfreda’s ministrations. He had lost the 
end of the thumb of his right hand, but it was 
quickly and skillfully treated and bound. In 
the meantime, Tom Gray had, amid a volley of 
protests, removed Gonzales’ shining boot and 
examined the foot, into which Belden had fired 
a thirty-eight calibre bullet. Tom did the best 
he could with the wound until Elfreda had 
finished with Proll. She then finished the 
dressing of the foot, Lieutenant Wingate, in 



“Drop It!” 
93 




















































94 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


the meantime, keeping a sharp eye on the 
others of the invading party. 

Gonzales was then assisted to his saddle, 
Crazy Bill regarding all these activities with 
scowling face. 

“Are we all set?” questioned Hippy cheer¬ 
fully. 

“I think so,” answered Tom Gray. 

“Now, Mr. Gonzales, you and your ruffians 
will please get out and keep away from this 
outfit. If you don’t someone will shoot higher 
next time, in which event you will depart lying 
across your saddle instead of sitting in it. We 
are able to take care of ourselves and we pro¬ 
pose to do it.” 

“The Senor shall pay for this,” growled the 
Mexican. “The law will see to it that he is 
rightly punished . 9 ’ 

‘ 6 Having taken the law into your own hands, 
Gonzales, we assume the same right. Bill, what 
next?” 

“All I got to say is to Pat Proll. You poor 
measly cayuse, I ought to have killed you and 
I’ll do it yit if ye even bat an eye at me. Yer 
the scum of the Guadalupes, but watch out that 
the buzzards don’t git ye. Git up!” 

“I’ll kill ye fer this!” fumed the deputy. 

“Git out!” Belden whirled the man about 
and began kicking him out of camp. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 95 


“Oh, don’t!” cried the Overland Riders in 
chorus. “Don’t do that.” 

“He has been wounded, Mr. Belden. You 
mustn’t,” begged Elfreda. 

Belden gave no heed to their urgings, and 
continued to hoot the unfortunate Pat Proll 
towards the outer side of the camp. 

“Go afore I fergits myself,” warned the old 
prospector. “And don’t ye come hack thinkin’ 
ye can git the drop on us. Next time thar’ll 
be some dead men ’mong that gang o ’ yourn. ’ ’ 

The visitors made off with all haste. 

“Whew! I am glad that little misunder¬ 
standing is ended. Bill, you are all right. We 
thank you—” 

“Pack up! Git out o’ here hot foot. That 
gang and some more o’ ’em will be back heah 
before mornin’. Them signal fires on the 
mountain means business. I’ll show ye a place 
where to hide up, but ye got to go. Ye’ll be 
shot if ye don’t and mebby ye’ll be shot if ye 
do. Hustle yerselves!” warned Crazy Bill. 


96 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER IX 

THE FLIGHT 

u TACY! ’ ’ called Lieutenant Wingate. 

“ Young man, where have you been dur¬ 
ing this disturbance ?” he demanded as 
the fat boy strolled into view. 

‘‘Where have I been? Humph! You ought 
to know wdiere I have been. I have been out 
yonder watching to see that the camp wasn’t 
surprised by another bunch of bandits. You 
don’t appreciate what I do. I—” 

“Cut it and get to work. We’re moving. 
Rustle yourself. Here, Lem, you get to work. 
Fetch the mule in, then roll packs faster than 
you ever rolled them before. We have got to 
be on the move in thirty minutes.” 

“Running away, eh?” chuckled Miss Briggs. 
“That isn’t like the Overlanders.” 

“We might let Stacy remain here, just to 
save our reputation for courage,” suggested 
Emma Dean. 

“Where you go, I go,” answered the fat boy. 
“I don’t know what it is about, but I’m for it 
whatever it is.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 97 


While the work of striking camp was in prog¬ 
ress, Crazy Bill strolled back and forth at a 
little distance, now and then glancing toward 
the mountain peak on which, earlier in the 
night, the signal fire had been observed. What 
his fears were none knew, and Bill was saying 
nothing. 

It was twenty-five minutes later by the watch 
when Hippy announced that they were ready, 
with the exception of shouldering their indi¬ 
vidual packs and mounting. 

“Follow the stream until you git other 
orders,” directed Belden. 

“But aren’t you going with us?” cried Nora. 

“I’ll jine ye. Everybody ride close to the 
hoss in front an’ keep quiet.” 

The horses were started, Lemuel and the 
mule bringing up the rear. A thick belt of 
darkness lay over the pass, but higher up the 
stars shone faintly. The air was chill and Ar- 
line complained that she was shivering. 

They had not gone far before a horse loomed 
faintly ahead. Hippy, in the lead, reined in 
and hailed. 

“It’s Bill,” answered the rider, and a mo¬ 
ment later they recognized the figure of Crazy 
Bill who was waiting for them. They had 
never seen him on a horse, did not know that 
he possessed one, and were now wondering 

7> — : ■ Grace Harlowe and Border GuerriUas 


98 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


where he had secreted the animal and how he 
had managed to get ahead and intercept 
them. But then, Bill Belden was a strange 
man, a slow man, except when there were 
reasons for his being active. 

“Foller me,” he ordered, and turning his 
mount he jogged along, plainly familiar with 
the trail that was being followed. 

It lacked but an hour to daylight when the 
old guide splashed through the stream and be¬ 
gan climbing the mountain on the opposite 
side. 

“Purty hard climb, but keep close an’ give 
the mustangs the rein. They’ll find the way. 
You folks jest hang on, that’s all ye have to 
do,” advised Belden. Then began a long, 
arduous climb, saddle leathers creaking and 
ponies slipping. The Riders were too busy 
clinging to their saddles to indulge in conversa¬ 
tion, and Arline Thayer was beyond speech 
from fright. 

The party finally rode out on comparatively 
level ground, when their guide told them that 
they might make camp at the first spring they 
encountered. 

4 ‘Give ’em the rein,” was Belden’s last in¬ 
junction to the party. 

Accordingly they again loosened up on the 
bridle reins and permitted their ponies to go 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 99 


where they would. The trail wound in and out 
among rocks and boulders, a trail so tortuous 
that every member of the party lost all sense of 
direction until the sky began to turn gray, the 
harbinger of the coming dawn. It was still 
dark where they were, but little by little objects 
began to grow out of the landscape. To the 
left a blanket of impenetrable blackness cov¬ 
ered the pass below. It was, as they supposed, 
the pass they had been following before climb¬ 
ing the mountain. 

“Hippy, I don’t see anything of Belden,” 
reminded Tom Gray, riding up beside his com¬ 
panion. 

“Don’t worry. He is somewhere ahead of 
us. He told us to give the ’tangs the rein, and 
we have done so. My appetite is getting the 
best of me. How about yourself, Tom?” 

“I am pretty well shaken down, I will 
admit, ’ ’ answered Tom Gray laughingly. 

“What are you two laughing at?” called 
Grace, her spirits revived with the dawning of 
the morning. 

“We were laughing at the thought of soon 
having breakfast,” called back Hippy. “Hello! 
There is a spring. I reckon it is the one Bill 
had in mind when he told us to make camp at 
the first spring and stay there. Folks, shall 
we halt here for breakfast?” 


100 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


A chorus of yesses answered him, and Hippy 
reined in and dismounted laughing heartily, at 
the same time declaring that he wasn’t the only 
member of the party with an appetite, pro¬ 
testations to the contrary notwithstanding. 

“You surely are a fine bunch,” jeered Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate as, for the first time that morn¬ 
ing, he got a good look at the girls of the out¬ 
fit. The hair of each one was down, faces were 
smudged from dirt, and the weariness they 
felt was plainly reflected in faces and eyes. 

“Where is Mr. Belden!” cried Emma, brush¬ 
ing the hair out of her eyes and peering about. 
“I thought he was just ahead of you.” 

“He is,” replied Hippy. 

“Was, you mean,” corrected Grace. “He 
left this party nearly an hour ago.” 

“How do you know that!” demanded Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate, eyeing her questioningly. 

“Because I was listening to the tread of his 
pony to make sure that we were following him. 
I heard the hoofbeats grow fainter and fainter 
as he set off. Then they died away alto¬ 
gether.” 

“Say, Loyalheart, had they had a few men 
in the navy with ears like yours there would 
have been no need of listening devices on the 
submarines in the great war,” cried Hippy 
admiringly. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 101 


‘* Let’s talk about breakfast,’’ urged Stacy 
Brown. “My listening device is attuned only 
to food this morning.” 

While Lemuel was making a fire the men un¬ 
saddled the ponies and threw the packs on the 
ground, and the girls, after a thorough wash¬ 
ing, started breakfast. Never had the aroma 
of coffee smelled sweeter to the Overlanders 
than it did on the chill mountain air that morn¬ 
ing, nor had it ever proved more delicious to 
the taste. Their enjoyment for the moment 
made them forget that their friend Belden was 
missing, but it was not until after breakfast 
that concern over his absence began to be felt. 

“What does it mean?” wondered Nora. 

No one was able to answer the question. 
Grace questioned Lieutenant Wingate as to the 
conversation between him and Belden before 
the latter had disappeared. Hippy told her 
word for word. 

‘ 6 Then there is but one thing to be done—re¬ 
main here until he returns. That is what he 
wished us to do. As for his losing us, that man 
couldn’t lose a large party like this in these 
mountains,” declared Grace with emphasis. 
“I propose that we make camp and stay here 
until we get word that it is safe to move on.” 

“Yes, there is more to this affair than we 
suspect,” added Miss Briggs. 


102 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“You know the warning we had from Tom 
Bainbridge at Carlos to look sharp for border 
guerrillas,’’ reminded Hippy. 

“What are they?” questioned Arline trem¬ 
ulously. 

“You may search me. Come, let’s make 
camp. I’m sleepy.” 

“That is a good idea. We will all take a 
snooze after we get things in shape here,” 
agreed Tom. 

The tents were pitched and blankets placed 
in them, and Lemuel, who said he wasn’t sleepy 
at all, was left to keep watch over the outfit. 
He showed his white teeth in appreciation of 
the important task assigned to him and began 
striding back and forth with his battered plug 
hat set at a jaunty angle. A few moments 
later the Overland Riders were sound asleep, 
unmindful of the sun that was blazing down on 
the little brown tents under which they slept 
until late in the afternoon. 

In the meantime Lemuel St. Petersburg 
Johnson had kept ceaseless vigil, now and then 
walking out to see that the ponies were in 
order, then stepping out on a point of rock that 
commanded a clear view for many miles of can¬ 
yon and rugged mountain peaks. 

“Ho, hum!” yawned Hippy, stretching his 
arms. “What time is it, Tom?” he muttered. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 103 


“Half past four, but for the life of me I don’t 
know whether it is to-day, to-morrow or yes¬ 
terday. I never slept so soundly in my life.” 

Hippy struggled to a sitting posture and 
peered out. No signs of life were visible about 
the camp. 

“Lemuel!” he called. There was no re¬ 
sponse. 1 ‘ Confound that boy! I suppose he is 
asleep, and here I am starving with no one to 
get me a bite to eat.” 

“Just imagine that you have had a fine sup¬ 
per and you will find yourself in perfect har¬ 
mony with the universe,” piped the voice of 
Emma Dean from the adjoining tent. 

“Don’t tantalize a hungry man. St. Peters¬ 
burg!” Hippy’s voice developed into a roar. 

“Don’t awaken the boy. Remember, he 
hasn’t had as much sleep as we have had,” re¬ 
minded Grace. 

“I am not so positive about that.” 

Elfreda told him to be patient, and said that 
they would have supper going in a few mo¬ 
ments, so Hippy pulled himself together, gave 
Stacy Brown a violent shake and went out 
blinking. He saw no indications of the pres¬ 
ence of Lemuel, but did not give further 
thought to the fact until after he had washed 
the sleep out of his eyes at the spring. Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate then began to look about for 


104 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


their handy man, peering under bushes, behind 
rocks and at the rear of the tents. 

i4 What are you looking for?” questioned 
Grace as she came out. 

“I am looking for that boy, and when I find 
him there is going to be trouble—for him.” 

* 4 Wait until after supper, Hippy. There is 
nothing like a nice warm meal to smooth the 
wrinkles from a ruffled temper,” reminded 
Grace. 

At this juncture the others of the party be¬ 
gan to come out of the tents, Stacy turning out 
last of all, grumbling and finding fault because 
supper was not ready. There was laughter 
when Grace informed her companions that 
Lemuel had crawled away somewhere and gone 
to sleep. 

“That is what comes from being in perfect 
harmony with one’s self,” averred Miss Dean. 
“After supper we will organize a searching 
party and find him. We surely cannot get 
along without St. Petersburg. Even a sleeping 
St. Petersburg is a joy.” 

Stacy Brown grunted and sat down, eagerly 
watching the preparations for supper while the 
girls reverted to the subject of Bill Belden and 
his non-appearance at the moment when they 
were depending on him to guide them to safety. 
Tom and Hippy, in the meantime, after get- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 105 


ting the cook-fire started, took a long survey of 
the surrounding landscape, hut not a sign of 
life did they discover, even with the aid of their 
binoculars. 

Supper was served soon after that. While 
eating they conferred on what was best to be 
done, whether to go on or to remain where they 
were in the hope that Belden might return and 
advise them. It was decided that, in view of 
the lateness of the hour, breaking camp would 
be foolish. 

After finishing their meal the Overlanders 
divided themselves into searching parties and 
started out to look for the sleeping Lemuel. 
They worked in ever-widening circles, and soon 
the groups were out of touch with each other, 
owing to the rough nature of the landscape. 

They had searched some distance from camp 
without finding a trace of Lemuel, and concern 
was now taking the place of merry chatter and 
laughter. 

“Do—do you suppose anything could have 
happened to him?” begged Nora anxiously. 
“Grace, what do you think could have hap¬ 
pened?” 

“I am sure I do not know, Nora dear. I can 
think of nothing more serious than that he may 
have lost himself, but if so we shall find him 
and—” 


106 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


“Hark!” admonished Nora. “I heard a 
shout. It’s Hippy. Oh, I do hope he has found 
him. Hurry, Grace. He is down that way.” 

The two girls ran in the direction of Hippy’s 
hail, and as they ran they were joined by othe£ 
members of their party. 

“Good news!” cried Tom Gray. 

“What is it?” called Grace, somewhat out of 
breath from her sprint. 

“Hippy has found him.” 

They came hurrying up to Lieutenant Win¬ 
gate who stood looking down at a clump of 
bushes a few yards beyond him. 

“Come easy. Don’t trample about too 
much,” he warned. 

“Wha—at is it?” gasped Emma. 

“Look!” answered Lieutenant Wingate, 
pointing. 

At the edge of the bushes indicated by him 
lay the colored boy’s hat, mashed flat, a hope¬ 
less wreck. Near by were pieces of his shirt, 
and a torn blouse which was instantly recog¬ 
nized as the one he wore when last seen by the 
Overland Eiders. The vegetation in the imme¬ 
diate vicinity had been trampled down appar¬ 
ently under the pressure of heavy boots. One 
spot looked as though a person had lain there. 

“Has a trail been left?” questioned Grace. 

Hippy shook his head. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 107 

“Not so far as I have been able to discover. 
I haven’t looked about. I—” 

“Hippy! What does it mean?” cried Nora 
with a note of alarm in her voice. 

“Yes, that’s what I want to know,” added 
Tom Gray. 

“Something has happened to the boy. He 
plainly was attacked on this spot. If you will 
all stand where you are I’ll see what else I can 
find,” announced Hippy. 

The Overlanders watched anxiously as Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate went carefully over the ground, 
now and then getting down on his knees to ex¬ 
amine a foot-print. The trail soon led him out 
of sight of his companions, who waited in 
anxiety for his return. It was some time be¬ 
fore they saw him hurrying towards them. 

“Did you discover anything?” called Tom 
Gray. 

“Yes. Lemuel has gone.” 

“Gone!” exclaimed the Overlanders in 
chorus. 

“Beaten and perhaps done for, and then 
taken away,” answered Lieutenant Hippy Win¬ 
gate. 


108 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER X 

DISASTERS COME FAST 

u y^OME and I’ll show you,” announced 
1 j Hippy, turning abruptly on his heel 
and leading the way to the scene of his 
discovery. “Two men at least were engaged 
in this outrage, and they must have beaten the 
boy terribly, for there are blood stains here. 
Over yonder two horses were tethered, and it 
is my belief that he was placed on one of them 
and taken away.” 

“How terrible!” murmured Arline. 

“Aren’t we going to try to follow the trail?” 
demanded Miss Briggs. 

“We are, Elfreda,” replied Hippy. “At 
least I am. I will go as far as I can before 
dark. That is all that can be done now. Tom, 
it is up to you to stay here with the girls. We 
mustn’t leave them alone.” 

“I thought Mr. Belden said this place was 
safe,” interposed Emma. 

“No place is safe where the Overland Riders 
go,” answered Miss Briggs. 

“Are you going on foot?” questioned Nora. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 109 


‘ 1 Yes, ’ 9 replied Lieutenant Wingate. ‘ 1 1 shall 
follow the trail by creeping along on all fours. 
Should Bill come in send him after me. I wish 
he were here now.” 

“Oh, do be careful, Hippy darlin’,” begged 
Nora anxiously. 

Hippy hastened back to camp, followed more 
slowly by his companions. Reaching the camp, 
he filled his ammunition belt with cartridges, 
strapped on his revolvers, and started away. 

“I’ll be back no later than dark,” he called 
back, and a few moments later he disappeared 
from sight. 

“What does it all mean?” wondered Grace. 
“First Mr. Belden disappears, and now Lemuel 
is whisked out of sight. Mr. Belden may have 
gone of his own volition, but the same cannot 
be said of our colored boy.” 

“As a lawyer, my intuition tells me that the 
boy’s disappearance is part of a plan,” sug¬ 
gested Elfreda. 

“What plan?” demanded Tom Gray. « 

“Ah! That is the question,” laughed Miss 
Briggs. “Did we know the answer to that we 
might understand our position and know what 
is best to do. If Hippy fails to find St. Peters¬ 
burg, the wise thing to do, it seems to me, is for 
us to remain here for a day or. so and give Mr. 
Belden an opportunity to get in touch with us. ’ 9 


110 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


‘ i In the meantime no one must leave the camp 
unaccompanied. We have had an object les¬ 
son. Nor must the camp be left unguarded at 
night. We shall have to take turns on watch,’’ 
declared Grace. “Tom, you and Hippy must 
arrange the watches so that we girls may do our 
share. One girl and one of you men can stand 
watch together.” 

Tom said they would cross that bridge when 
they came to it, and began thoughtfully pacing 
back and forth, pausing frequently to gaze off 
over the mountains and gorges. He was still 
pacing when early twilight slowly filled the 
passes and finally spread over the higher 
reaches like a blanket. 

Nora suggested that they build up a bright 
fire as a guide for Hippy. Tom sternly for¬ 
bade it. 

“Aren’t we in enough difficulties now, with¬ 
out calling the attention of every man in the 
mountains to the fact that we are camping 
here ? Build a small fire between the two rocks 
just back of the camp and pitch tents on either 
side of it. That will supply warmth through 
the night, and won’t be visible outside of the 
camp. ’ ’ 

The others agreed that the advice was good. 

The anxious glances of the Overlanders were 
now cast towards the rapidly darkening peaks, 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 111 


and Nora was growing more ill at ease with the 
moments. 

Darkness had enshrouded mountain and can¬ 
yon by the time arrangements were completed 
for the night, when the distant report of a gun 
brought the Overland Riders to attention. The 
report was followed by five other shots; then 
silence again settled over the mountains. 

1 1 Oh, what is it ? ’’ cried Arline, observing the 
concern of her companions. 

“Revolver shooting,” answered Tom Gray. 

“What do you think, Grace?” whispered El- 
freda. 

“I fear that Hippy is in trouble,” answered 
Grace, also in a whisper. 

“Is—is there nothing that we can do, Loyal- 
heart?” 

Grace shook her head slowly, as she listened 
for further shots. 

“Nothing except to protect ourselves,” 
Grace replied. “We may be able to plan a 
course for action should Hippy not have re¬ 
turned by morning. He has probably lost his 
way, but we must not worry about that.” 

“You just said that he is probably in 
trouble,” reminded Miss Briggs. 

“Well, isn’t losing one’s way in the darkness 
in this region being in trouble?” retorted Grace 
laughingly. 


112 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


‘‘ You win,” admitted Elfreda. “What 
now?” 

“We must eat. Stacy, you and Tom must 
watch the camp and see that we are not sur¬ 
prised. While you are eating your supper Tom 
must stay on guard.” 

“My condition will not permit me to stand 
up for an hour either before or after eating,” 
responded Stacy. 

“Sit right down, Stacy. I will take your 
watch. Girls, don’t you know that there is a 
law against cruelty to animals?” demanded 
Emma. 1 ‘ I cannot understand how you can be 
so heartless, Grace.” 

The laugh at Stacy’s expense relieved the 
tension and put the Overland girls more at 
ease. Tom said he would eat at the second 
table, so he took the watch while Stacy was 
eating. The fat boy spent fully an hour coiled 
up in front of a blanket which did duty for him 
as a table. The others had long since finished 
and Grace and Emma had gone out to relieve 
Tom, who confessed that he was ravenously 
hungry. 

“Any news from the front?” questioned 
Stacy thickly, as Tom came in. 

“Children should be seen, not heard,” was 
Tom’s brief reply. “You are going on watch 
with me to-night. It is no work for girls. Even 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 113 


if you do act like a child, this is one of the 
times when you are going to do your duty like 
a man. Stacy, listen to me! ’ ’ commanded Tom 
sternly. 61 1 have evidence that your pose is not 
cowardice, but Simon-pure laziness.’’ 

“Thanks, Thomas,” responded the fat boy 
dryly. ‘ 6 What do you wish me to do V 9 

“Strap on your holster and get out there.” 

Stacy rose, yawned, and, picking up his hol¬ 
ster and belt, examined his weapon. “This is 
a man’s job,” then announced the fat boy 
pompously, as he strolled out whistling. “I’ll 
protect this camp, and if any one gets in it will 
be over my dead body. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Mercy! ’ ’ cried Emma in mock alarm. ‘ ‘ Oh, 
do be careful that you do not shoot yourself. 
Grace, the Overland party is safe now. How¬ 
ever, if you hear a shot in the night don’t be 
alarmed. It will be nothing more than Stacy 
Brown accidentally shooting himself. Then I 
will pick some wild flowers for you in the morn¬ 
ing, little man,” she called after him. 

“Keep the girls laughing,” whispered Grace. 
“It will take their minds from their troubles.” 

“Girls, I have to report that the ship is safe. 
Captain Brown is now on the bridge, and he 
will guard us until either he goes to sleep at his 
post or takes himself for a guerrilla and in¬ 
advertently shoots himself,” announced Miss 

8 - Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


114 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Dean. 11 Thomas, I advise yon to go out and 
make your round of the sentry posts.’’ 

“Yes, Tom. I haven’t great confidence in 
Stacy’s ability as a guard, but, if you are near 
to lend him encouragement he may do very 
well. And now, girls, I suggest that we turn in 
and get some rest. Stacy will see to it that our 
rest is not undisturbed. I know him of old,” 
added Grace Harlowe laughingly. 

The Overland girls promptly began prepar¬ 
ing to turn in, the time being enlivened by 
merry quips and jests at their expense uttered 
by Emma Dean. They were soon snuggled 
under their blankets. None knew what danger 
menaced them, but all felt that the very atmos¬ 
phere was charged with possibilities. Nora 
Wingate, while full of hope that Hippy might 
come in at any moment, cried silently, covering 
her head with her blanket lest she utter an 
audible sob. 

Tom had gone out to Stacy to tell the boy 
what was expected of him, after which the two 
took up their positions and sat down for their 
vigil. There was no further conversation be¬ 
tween them, and not a sound, save the occa¬ 
sional rustling of leaves near at hand, dis¬ 
turbed that vigil for several hours. 

It was shortly after two o ’clock in the morn¬ 
ing, when Tom Gray, imagining that he had 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 115 


heard someone moving abont, stood np to call 
ont in case it were Stacy. He had barely gotten 
to his feet when the night was suddenly split by 
the crash of a heavy revolver within a few 
yards of him. A bullet snipped the leaves not 
far from Tom’s head. 

‘ ‘I got him! I got him!” howled Stacy 
Brown, discharging the remaining cartridges 
in his revolver in quick succession. 

“Stop it! You’re shooting at me, you idiot!” 
yelled Tom Gray. Tom was now hugging the 
ground for self-protection. 

“I hit him. He’s over yonder. If you don’t 
believe me I’ll show you,” yelled Stacy trium¬ 
phantly. 


116 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER XI 

A MESSAGE FROM WILLY 

W HILE on watch Stacy Brown had sat 
down at the base of a stubbed tree, 
and there he eventually went to 
sleep. He awakened with a start, and in full 
consciousness that he had failed in his duty to 
his companions. Realizing this, Stacy got up 
and walked a few yards towards the camp, pro¬ 
ceeding cautiously so as not to attract the 
attention of Tom Gray. Entering the deeper 
shadows cast by a rock, he leaned against it 
and surveyed as much of the immediate land¬ 
scape as the darkness permitted. 

As Stacy’s eyes became more accustomed to 
the uncertain light he made a sudden and 
alarming discovery. Outline against the sky 
near where he had taken his nap he saw that 
which made him instantly alert. 

“A man!” whispered the boy, and without 
pausing to consider that what he saw might be 
his companion, Stacy Brown jerked his re¬ 
volver from its holster and fired. Stacy saw 
the object at which he was shooting disappear 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 117 


and fall to the ground, and it was at that junc¬ 
ture that he set up his triumphant yell. 

i ‘You nearly hit me, you poor fish!” raged 
Tom. “Don’t you know that I was almost in 
line with your fire?” 

“Have you any bullet holes in you?” de¬ 
manded the fat boy. 

“No. Of course not.” 

“Then you were not in line with my fire or 
you would have been hit. I never miss what I 
shoot at. Hurry! Strike a light. Do some¬ 
thing so we can see. I expect we ’ll find a dead 
man over there.” 

Tom produced his pocket lamp and started 
forward as calls of alarm were heard from the 
camp. 

“It’s all right. Stacy has been shooting at 
shadows,” answered Tom. 

The girls came running to the scene as Tom 
stepped towards the spot indicated by Stacy. 

“Right there behind that tree stub, Tom,” 
urged the boy, hanging back to permit his com¬ 
panion to reach the scene first. 

— “There is something there!” cried Tom. 

“Of course there is. I—” 

“What is it?” demanded Grace and Elfreda 
breathlessly. 

“Nothing of importance. I shot a prowler, 
that’s all,” replied Stacy. 


118 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“I see a lIat, ,, announced Tom. “A hat on 
the ground, but that’s all.” 

“Are you certain that there isn’t a man’s 
head in the hat?” questioned Emma, halting a 
little way back. 

“Fiddlesticks! There wasn’t any man to 
hit. Stacy! Where is your hat?” demanded 
Tom Gray, fixing a stern look on the fat boy. 

“Why, I—I—I guess I must have hung it on 
a branch of that stub just before I sat down 
there,” stammered the boy, passing a hand 
over his head. “I forgot all about it. Honest, 
Tom, I did. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Huh! ’ ’ Tom picked up the hat and handed 
it to him. “You hung your hat on the tree 
stub, and when you woke up from your beauty 
sleep you saw the hat and took for granted that 
the tree wearing it was a man. Oh, what a 
simp! Are those holes bullet holes?” exploded 
Tom, playing his light on the hat. 

“Yes, of course. Didn’t I tell you I hit it?” 

“Then you must have aimed at something 
else, ’ ’ interjected Emma Dean. i1 Stacy ordina¬ 
rily hits what he doesn’t aim at. The safest 
spot in the world is the one that he fires at.” 

“Please let me look at that hat,” urged 
Grace, extending her hand for it. A ray from 
the lamp had reflected on something inside the 
sombrero. Stacy surrendered it with some 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 119 


reluctance, and with more or less suspicion as 
to Grace Harlowe’s intentions regarding it. 

“Stacy, did you have anything in this hat!” 
she demanded after peering into it. 

44 No, of course not.” 

44 Nothing is right,” spoke up Emma, which 
brought a laugh from her companions. 

44 Hold your light here, Tom,” requested 
Grace, turning the hat so that a ray from the 
pocket lamp might light up the inside of the 
hat. 4 4 There is a piece of paper tucked partly 
under the inside hat band,” she said. 

44 Let me have it!” demanded the fat boy. 

44 Just a moment, please. I wish you people 
to take a good look at this,” continued Grace. 
4 4 You will observe that there are three bullet 
holes in Stacy ’s sombrero, each one going 
through the hat and coming out the other side. 
Note well the position of the piece of paper.” 

After each had taken the look requested, 
Grace handed the hat to Tom with a nod. Tom 
took the piece of paper from the inside band 
and regarded it inquiringly under the light, the 
Overlanders pressing about him wondering 
what new mystery was about to be revealed to 
them. 

44 Hm-m-m!” mused Captain Gray after a 
quick glance at the paper. 4 4 This is a message 
for us, and another mysterious one. Listen,” 


120 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


he directed. “I’ll read it. It begins ‘ Friends/ 
and reads as follows: 

“ ‘You are in great danger and should not 
have attempted to follow this trail, or the trail 
you started out on. There are guerrillas not 
far from you, but if you will keep close watch 
you can hold them off until others are ready to 
act. Stay where you are. Don’t break camp 
until you are told to.’ The signature,” added 
Tom Gray, “is the same as on the other mys¬ 
terious note that we received. The man calls 
himself ‘Willy.’ ” 

“How strange!” murmured Grace. “We at 
least know now where we stand and must 
govern ourselves accordingly. I wonder who it 
can be. Whoever it is we know that he is our 
friend, and had we taken his advice we should 
not be in this predicament. He says not a word 
about Lemuel or Hippy, but perhaps he doesn’t 
know they are missing.” 

“There is one thing that I do not under¬ 
stand,” spoke up Elfreda. “I don’t think you 
all got what Grace meant when she requested 
you to take a good look at the position of the 
piece of paper in the hat. The peculiar thing 
about it is that the paper was right over one of 
Stacy’s bullet holes, and that there is no bullet 
hole through the paper itself. Now will you 
wise Overlanders explain that?” 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 121 


“Why, don’t you know?” cried Emma. 
“Stacy’s bullets are trained bullets. They 
aren’t supposed to hurt anyone. They just 
tickle what they hit and then fly up into the 
ether. Like Stacy himself, they are crazy but 
harmless.” 

“There is only one explanation that I can 
think of,” Miss Briggs declared. “The paper 
must have been placed in the hat after the 
shooting, and when the hat was on the ground. 
There was a man there then. Stacy did see 
someone after all. The man plainly dropped 
to the ground at the first shot, and when the 
hat fell down he quickly slipped his message in 
it. I will say that he is about the coolest-headed 
person I’ve ever heard of.” 

“Get back to camp,” ordered Tom. “Stacy 
and I will finish what we began, and to-morrow 
morning I am going out to look for Hippy.” 

Tom flashed his light about, raising it from 
the ground for the first time, but no sooner had 
he done so than there came the wo-o-o-o and 
the spang of a bullet as it flattened itself 
against a rock at some little distance from 
them. 

“Put out your light!” cried Emma shrilly. 

Tom, instead of throwing off the light, let 
the lamp fall from his hand and yelled 
“Down!” 


122 


GRACE HAKLOWE AND 


CHAPTER XII 


A NARROW ESCAPE 



iHE girls of the Overland party were 


flat on the ground ere Tom Gray had 


obeyed his own command. Five bul¬ 


lets whined overhead and sang on into the fax* 
distance. 

“Too high! You’ll have to do better than 
that,” jeered Stacy Brown. “The faster they 
come the higher they get.” 

“That is a heavy rifle, and the shots were 
fired from a distance,” announced Tom. 

“I think the light attracted the shots,” sug¬ 
gested Grace. 

“Yes, I think so,” said Tom. “No more 
lights outside of camp, and no more in it than 
absolutely necessary. The excitement is all 
over for this evening, I hope. I think—” 

1 ‘ Look out! Duck! ’’ yelled Stacy Brown, and 
once more he began shooting, to the amazement 
and consternation of his companions. 

“Doan’ shoot! Ah ain’t done nothin’,” 
wailed a frightened voice from the darkness 
ahead of them. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 123 


44 Stop it!” commanded Tom Gray, who, with 
the girls, had once more dropped to the ground. 

“It’s Lemuel!” cried Emma. “St. Peters¬ 
burg, is that you?” 

“Ah reckons Ah doan’ know. Ah reckons 
mah haid ain’t got nothin’ but bumps onto it. 
Doan’ shoot no moah, I arsks you-all.” 

Tom Gray was already bounding forward 
towards the sound of the little guide’s voice. 

“St. Petersburg! Now perhaps we shall 
hear news of Hippy. Are you all right, Lem¬ 
uel?” begged Tom anxiously. 

“Ain’t nevah goin’ to be all right no moah, 
Cap’n. Mah haid feels like mah face did when 
Ah had er mumps. ’ ’ 

“You poor boy! You come right along with 
me and let me see what is the matter with you,” 
commanded Miss Briggs, grasping the arm of 
the little colored boy and leading him rapidly 
towards the camp, followed by the others of the 
party. 

“Hadn’t Stacy better stay on watch?” ques¬ 
tioned Grace. 

“No. It isn’t safe to leave him alone. 
Should Hippy chance to come in Stacy surely 
will shoot him,” answered Tom. 

“Shoot at him, you mean,” corrected Emma. 

Tom said he would return to his post, but 
that he first wished to question Lemuel. 


124 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Oh, you poor boy!” cried Nora when they 
got the boy to the camp and had had a good 
look at him. Lemuel’s face was scratched and 
swollen, and three big lumps on his head bore 
evidence to as many cruel blows. 

“Have you had anything to eat to-day?” 
demanded Elfreda, observing that the boy was 
weak, and that his body sagged as if it were 
about to collapse. 

“Ah doan’ know, Missie—Ah doan’ know 
when Ah had er snack to eat. Ain’t had no 
appertite nohow.” 

Grace and Emma sprang to the fire, and in a 
few moments had tea over the coals. While 
they were thus engaged Nora was preparing 
food for the boy and Elfreda was examining 
his wounds and washing away the congealed 
blood from his head and face. 

6 ‘ This boy has had some terrific blows on his 
head. It is a wonder that he is alive,” declared 
Miss Briggs. “Please hurry, girls.” 

Lemuel found his appetite when the odor of 
food assailed his nostrils, and when it was 
placed before him he ate so ravenously that 
Miss Briggs threatened to take it away from 
him unless he ate more slowly. This slowed 
him up somewhat, and after he had eaten all 
they would let him have, Lemuel suddenly 
straightened up and rolled his eyes. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 125 


“Mah hat! Mah hat! Ah done lost mah 
hat,” he wailed. 

“Lieutenant Wingate found your hat, Lem¬ 
uel,” Grace informed him. 

“Whar dat—whar dat hat?” cried St. 
Petersburg, springing up. 

“Sit down,” commanded Elfreda. “I must 
treat your bumps, and while I am doing so you 
must tell Captain Gray what happened to you. 
When you have finished you shall have what is 
left of your hat.” 

“Speak up, and be lively about it,” urged 
Tom. “Who hit you?” 

“Ah doan’ know. Ah was down thar lookin’, 
thinkin’ Ah’d seen somebody, when er feller 
grabbed me. Ah tried ter yell, but Ah didn’t, 
cause he give me er clip on de bean, an Ah went 
ter sleep. I waked up, den I tried ter git away 
and got another clip on de bean.” 

“What happened then?” questioned Captain 
Gray. 

“Doan’ know nuffin’ ’bout dat. When Ah 
waked up agin Ah was in er cave, and er feller 
wid er gun was keepin’ watch ovah me and mah 
haid ached and Ah was sore all ovah. Who do 
you reckons did dat t’ing, Boss?” The colored 
boy rolled the whites of his eyes up to Tom. 

“That is what we wish to find out, Lemuel. 
How many men did you see?” 


126 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“ ’Bout er hundred, Ah reckons.’’ 

“Are you positive?” interrupted Emma. 
“Are you sure?” 

“Ain’t sure ’bout nuffin’ ’cept mah haid.” 

“Did you see Lieutenant Wingate?” 

Lemuel shook his head. 

“Whar he?” 

“He is missing, just as you were. How did 
you get away from them and how did you find 
your way here ? ’ ’ 

“Two fellers got ter fightin’ and Ah runned 
away. Ah seen yer light and Ah heard you-all 
shootin’ and Ah corned in. Ah runned away 
last night and Ah been tryin’ ter find you-all 
ever since.” 

“Were the men who captured you Mexi¬ 
cans?” asked Elfreda. 

Lemuel said he didn’t know. 

“Put the boy to bed. Perhaps when his head 
is clearer in the morning he may be able to re¬ 
call more of what happened to him. Whether 
he can do so or not, I am going out to look for 
Hippy, ’ ’ announced Captain Gray. “ It is plain 
now that Hippy has gotten into trouble. I wish 
Mr. Belden were here. Turn in, you folks. 
Stacy, you come with me. The camp must not 
be left unguarded.” 

Nothing occurred that night to disturb the 
quiet of the Overland camp from that moment 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 127 


on. Daylight found Tom Gray still on guard, 
but Stacy Brown lay stretched out on the 
ground sound asleep. The girls were stirring 
when Tom walked into camp, leaving Stacy to 
finish his sleep. 

‘ ‘ Call the boy after I have eaten breakfast / 9 
directed Tom. 

Lemuel was awakened shortly after that, 
and as soon as convenient Tom took him out 
where a view of the surrounding country was 
to be had, and questioned him as to what part 
of the country he thought he had been taken 
to. About all that the boy was able to do was 
here and there to point out some landmark 
that he had observed when trying to find his 
way back to his party the day before. It 
served, however, to give Tom an idea of the 
general direction that he wanted to know. He 
reasoned that if Lemuel had come that way it 
were safe to assume that Hippy had gone that 
way. 

“I am going, but, should I not return to¬ 
night, don’t be alarmed. Should I not come up 
with Hippy I’ll keep going until I do, at least 
until some time late to-morrow. I surely shall 
be back by or shortly after dark to-morrow. 
Grace, have you packed my rations I” de¬ 
manded Tom. 

She handed a fairly heavy pack to him, 


128 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


which Tom hung over one shoulder, then kiss¬ 
ing Grace good-bye he picked up his rifle and 
started off. Stacy was still sleeping when the 
Overlander passed out on his way resolute and 
unafraid. 

St. Petersburg spent most of his morning 
trying to press his wrecked plug hat back into 
shape, but without success. No work was de¬ 
manded of him, so the boy had an easy time of 
it. A lookout was posted immediately after 
breakfast and continued all day, the girls tak¬ 
ing turns in watching that the camp might not 
be surprised. Later on, Grace and Elfreda 
sought to stimulate the colored boy’s memory 
of what had occurred to him during his absence, 
but, beyond what he already had told them, they 
elicited nothing new. St. Petersburg plainly 
had been so dazed from the blows on his head 
that he had practically no recollection left. 

The day wore on and night came on with all 
plans made for protecting the camp. It was 
decided that Arline should remain in her tent 
and go to sleep while all the rest of the party 
stood guard, including Lemuel and Stacy, to 
both of whom a severe lecture was read by 
Miss Briggs on the necessity of keeping awake 
and being ever on the alert. 

The vigil was taken up by the entire party, 
with the exception of Arline, early in the eve- 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 129 


ning, the members of the party being so placed 
that the entire camp was surrounded. There 
was to he no moving about except as Grace, at 
intervals, made the rounds of the watchers to 
see that all was well with them. She made her 
first round exactly at midnight. Then the long 
dreary hours until daylight were faced with 
anxiety. The absence of Tom and Hippy made 
a great difference, and the feeling of confidence 
that had been inspired by these men no longer 
existed. 

Grace Harlowe’s next round was made two 
hours later, when she found each girl on duty 
wide awake and alert. On her way back to her 
own post, Grace paused and peered intently at 
the one tent in the camp that she could see from 
her position. Only the upper half of it was 
visible, faintly lighted by the glowing embers 
of the campfire. 

“I thought I saw a shadow on that tent. I 
wonder if Arline is up,” reflected Grace, “I— 
Ah!” A human head in silhouette, for a brief 
second, stood out on the canvas of the tent, 
and then disappeared. 

Grace crept up cautiously, but to her dismay 
a dead branch snapped under her foot so loudly 
that she feared it would attract the attention 
of her companions. There was now no need 
for secrecy in approaching the camp-site, so 

9 - Grace Harlowe and Border Guerrillas 


130 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Grace stepped briskly forward, rounded a huge 
boulder that lay between her and the tents, 
then halted and gazed wonderingly at the scene 
before her. 

The camp showed no signs of life. 

“Arline!” called the Overland girl softly. 

There was no response. After listening in¬ 
tently Grace distinctly heard the regular 
breathing of Arline Thayer who plainly was 
asleep. Grace peered into the tent and in the 
faint light the figure of the sleeping girl was 
faintly discernible. 

“Arline!” she again called softly. 

Arline answered sleepily, then settled back 
into an even sounder sleep, whereupon Grace 
stepped back, drawing the tent flaps together, 
and looked about her, a growing suspicion in 
her eyes. 

Stepping to a tent that had been occupied by 
men of their party, Grace made a discovery. 
The tent flaps that had been wide open when 
last she was in the camp were now tightly 
drawn. 

An instant’s hesitation, then she drew the 
flaps apart ever so little and peered in. The 
tent-flaps were as quickly closed, and Grace 
stepped hurriedly back a few paces. 

“ Overlanders !’ 9 she shouted in a tone that 
brought her companions running to the scene. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 131 


CHAPTER XIII 

JUANA, THE MYSTEKIOUS 

T HE Overland girls came on flying feet 
from their posts in response to Grace 
Harlowe’s call. They found her stand¬ 
ing back several yards from the closed tent, 
with one hand on her holster. 

“Wha—wha dis?” stammered Lemuel, roll¬ 
ing his eyes. 

“Grace! For mercy sake, what has hap¬ 
pened ?” cried Emma, flushed and excited. 

A cry from Arline Thayer’s tent told them 
that she was now awake, but no one gave heed 
to her. 

4 ‘What is it?” questioned Miss Briggs un¬ 
emotionally. “I do not see anything to get ex¬ 
cited about.” 

“Look at that tent,” answered Grace. 
“Well? I fail to see anything wrong with it. 
What is the big idea?” 

“Girls, did you observe when you left here 
that the flaps of that tent were open?” asked 
Grace. 

The girls shook their heads. 


132 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“The flap was closed when I came here just 
now—keep a little to one side, all of you. If I 
have to shoot I want a clear field. ’ 9 

“If there is shooting to be done I am the man 
to attend to that,” spoke up Stacy Brown 
pompously. 

Grace waved him back. 

“Do you mean to say that some person has 
been in this camp since we left it?” wondered 
Elfreda. 

“Yes. There is someone in that tent now,” 
replied Grace with more calmness than she 
felt. 

“Help!” murmured Emma. “Stacy, go in 
and see who it is.’ 9 

“I will not. My place is out here with you 
girls, ’ ’ answered the fat boy. 

“Yes, little boy. You are right. I think—” 

“Please all stand to one side—on one side, 
I mean,” commanded Grace. “I am going to 
find out. Be ready for trouble.” 

Grace stepped up to the tent and flung wide 
the flaps, with revolver at ready. She paused 
momentarily, then stepped in. 

‘ ‘ Get up, whoever you are! I have a gun and 
I know how to use it,’ 9 warned Grace. 

There was a movement under the blanket 
beneath which the intruder had taken refuge. 
The blanket was slowly cast aside, and the oc- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 133 


cupant of the tent sat np, the Overland girl’s 
revolver leveled at the stranger’s head. 

As she gazed, Grace slowly lowered the wea¬ 
pon, and let it drop into its holster. 

“Come out where I can get a good look at 
you,” she ordered, taking the visitor by an arm 
and starting for the open. “Look, girls!” she 
cried. “What do you think of our caller?” 

“A girl!” gasped Nora Wingate. 

“Yes, a girl, and a pretty one, too,” an¬ 
swered Grace, standing off and gazing at the 
intruder. 

The intruder did not appear to he more than 
fifteen years old. She was dark, with the black 
eyes and the features of a Mexican, hut she was 
pretty and rather delicate-looking. 

“You will now please explain what you are 
doing in our camp,” demanded Grace. 

“A thousand pardons, Senorita. Juana did 
not know. She thought there was no one here 
but the girl in the other tent. I meant no harm. 
I swear it by the Mother of us all and all the 
saints,” cried the girl, dropping to her knees, 
hands upraised in a gesture of supplication. 
Her distress appeared so genuine that the 
Overland girls’ sympathies went out to her. 
Still, her presence in their camp needed ex¬ 
plaining. 

“You say your name is Juana. Where do 


134 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


you live?” questioned Elfreda, regarding the 
girl with steady, searching eyes. 

“I live in the mountains in a cabin far from 
here, I fear. My father is a vaquero, and he will 
die of grief when I do not come home to-night. 
Oh, senoritas, what shall I do?” 

‘ 4 That depends. How did you chance to come 
here at this time of night?” continued Miss 
Briggs. 

“I wandered into a part of the hills that 
was new to me, and darkness overtook me. I 
could not find my way, and when I saw a light 
I came here. Finding only one woman I 
thought to creep into the tent where I knew I 
should be warm, and find i'est. I was so cold, 
Senorita. ’’ 

“Yes, but how did you get in here?” won¬ 
dered Miss Dean. 

“Why, I walked in. How did you think I 
came?” returned Juana, raising her troubled 
black eyes to Emma’s face. 

Emma shrugged her shoulders. 

“It seems that our barrage of Overland 
Riders was not as hole-proof as we thought it 
was,” she said. 

“Where did you learn to speak such good 
English?” asked Grace. 

“I went to school in El Paso where I was 
born, Senorita.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 135 


“One question more, Juana. How long had 
you been here when I entered the camp?” 

“Very, very long, Senorita. I think an hour 
or more.” 

“And you have been in the tent ever since— 
up to the time I dragged you out?” asked 
Grace smilingly. 

“Yes, Senorita. I was too cold to want to 
come out.” 

“Thank you. Girls, suppose we make some 
tea for the senorita. She must be hungry, too. 
Stacy! You and Lemuel go out and stand 
watch for an hour, but don’t shoot before you 
stop to think.” 

Juana’s spirits rose under the influence of 
tea and biscuit, and she talked with less re¬ 
straint, asking many questions, where the party 
came from, where they were going and how 
long they were to be in the mountains. Juana 
also questioned them as to why they did not 
have a man with them. Fortunately for her, 
Stacy Brown was not at hand to hear the re¬ 
mark. Stacy and Lemuel were a few yards 
away, pacing back and forth, peering into the 
darkness. 

Only one of the Overlanders gave Juana 
definite information. Nora Wingate in her 
eagerness to get news of Hippy told all she 
knew about the affairs and the disasters of the 


136 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


party, to which the visitor listened with glow¬ 
ing eyes. 

A little later, Juana said she would like to 
lie down and get some rest, being very tired 
after her long wandering in the mountains. 
After seeing the little Mexican girl to bed in 
the tent where she had taken refuge, the flaps 
were closed and hooked together, and the Over¬ 
land girls looked at each other inquiringly. 

“Well, what do you think about it?” de¬ 
manded Emma. 

Elfreda laid a finger on her own lips and 
nodded towards the tent. 

“We must go back and take up our vigil,” 
announced Grace. “Juana will sleep better, 
too, if she doesn’t hear us chattering. Come, 
girls! One of us will remain here to see that 
our guest is not disturbed. I think I shall do 
that myself. Come! ’ ’ 

After a word to Arline to reassure her that 
all was well, the girls walked from the camp, 
halting a few yards beyond, and stood there 
talking. 

“What do you think of her, Elfreda?” asked 
Grace. 

“A pretty girl, isn’t she?” answered Miss 
Briggs. 

“Keep a sharp lookout. You take charge of 
the girls. I will stand watch in camp. I have 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 137 


my own reasons for wishing to do so, and for 
goodness’ sake don’t let any more prowlers get 
through. I don’t understand yet how that 
Mexican girl got in. I know very well that she 
did not get by me. No one could do that with¬ 
out discovery.” 

Grace accompanied the girls to their stations, 
all chatting in low tones. Stacy reported 
* ‘All’s well”; then Grace returned to camp, and 
peered into Arline’s tent, where she found Miss 
Thayer awake, but drowsy. 

“Do you think everything is all right!” mur¬ 
mured Arline sleepily. 

“Yes. Now forget everything hut sleep, and 
in a few moments you will forget that, too. 
Good-night. ’ ’ 

After closing the flaps of Arline’s tent, Grace 
stepped over and peered into the tent occupied 
by Juana. The girl was snuggled under her 
blanket, breathing evenly and evidently asleep, 
so the Overland Rider went out and sat down 
by the fire to think and to watch. She was not 
yet satisfied that all was right, so far as their 
guest was concerned. Then there was the 
added worry over Lieutenant Wingate and 
Tom Gray, though Grace felt a supreme confi¬ 
dence that both men would extricate them¬ 
selves from whatever predicament they might 
have gotten into, and she also felt confident 


138 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


that the members of the party left in camp 
could take care of themselves. 

Nothing further occurred to disturb the 
serenity of the night, nor was there a sound to 
be heard from the girls and the boys on guard 
duty. The quiet continued uninterrupted for 
more than an hour, and then Grace, finding 
herself sleepy, got up and moved about, taking 
care not to awaken the sleepers in the tents. 
After a while she peeped into the tent occupied 
by the Mexican girl, and saw something there 
that did not seem to be right, though the 
shadows were so deep that the Overlander 
could not see anything in detail. Grace stepped 
lightly to the blankets and, crouching down, 
uttered a sudden exclamation. 

The Overlander bounded from the tent, and 
running out into the open, shouted to her com¬ 
panions. 

“Look out! Juana has run away! Catch 
her! Don’t let her get by you!” cried Grace. 

Excitement followed Grace’s warning shout, 
and in a moment she had joined the girls to 
search for their late guest, though not before 
Stacy Brown in his excitement had fired his 
revolver into the air. 

‘ ‘ Stop that! ’ ’ commanded Miss Briggs. 

“Keep going, girls. We musn’t let that 
young woman get away from us,” cried Emma. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 139 

“There’s something wrong here. What’s 
that?” 

A sudden scream startled the girls. 

ii It’s Arline! Run!” wailed Nora. 

The Overlanders with one accord deserted 
their posts and ran full speed for the camp, 
followed by Stacy Brown and a badly 
frightened Lemuel. A further cry from Arline, 
shriller and full of fear, speeded up the sprint¬ 
ers. They entered the camp in a rush, Stacy 
stumbling over a tent-rope into the camp fire, 
from which he hastily extricated himself. 

Emma was the first to reach Arline’s tent, 
followed by Elfreda who was close on her heels. 
Both girls dashed into Arline’s tent at the same 
instant, calling out her name and demanding to 
know the cause of her screams. 

Emma and Elfreda were out of the tent in 
a flash. 

“She’s gone! Arline’s gone!” cried El¬ 
freda, bumping into Grace Harlowe in her 
haste. 

“Quick! Spread out!” commanded Grace. 
16 Don’t shoot unless attacked. Arline! Shout 
so we may know where you are!” 

A quickly smothered scream, seemingly far 
away, answered Grace Harlowe’s hail. 


140 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER XIV 

HIPPY FINDS A HOT TRAIL 

I T was nearly night when Lieutenant Win¬ 
gate, after much difficulty and many false 
leads, finally found the trail that seemed 
to be the one over which Lemuel had been 
taken by his captors. 

Hippy straightened up and took a final 
survey of the country, fixing every prominent 
landmark in his mind before turning back 
towards camp, for he could do little more that 
day, and the trail would still be there in the 
morning. 

“This is a fine kettle of fish,” he growled. 
Something rustled a bush not more than a 
dozen yards from him, and the Overland Rider 
turned like a flash and drew his weapon, when 
he saw the cause of the disturbance was a 
swarthy Mexican. The fellow’s arm was raised 
and, with head tilted slightly backward, he was 
aiming his revolver directly at Lieutenant 
Wingate, but Hippy’s quick move had, for a 
few lucky seconds, disconcerted the man and 
stayed his trigger-finger. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 141 


Lieutenant Wingate’s own weapon came up, 
and at the same instant he sprang to one side, 
firing as he leaped. Both weapons banged so 
close together that it sounded like the report of 
one gun. 

i ‘ Hands up! ” shouted Hippy. 

The answer was another shot, hut the Over¬ 
lander was hopping about like a jumping-jack, 
making the Mexican’s aim uncertain and caus¬ 
ing his bullets to go wild. Hippy, as he jumped, 
gave back shot for shot, his adversary quickly 
adopting similar tactics, but having the advan¬ 
tage that there was a heavy growth of bushes 
through which he could dodge, while Hippy 
Wingate had but a scattering growth to mask 
his own activities. 

Both men emptied their revolvers without 
scoring a hit, then threw themselves on the 
ground where they quickly reloaded. Hippy, 
however, instead of rising and resuming the 
battle, wriggled his way over the ground, then 
on all fours he crept along at a fair rate of 
speed. He paused now and then to listen and 
look, but as the light was failing he could not 
see far. In order to get a clearer view he began 
cautiously to raise himself. It was then that 
the end came. A crushing blow on the head, a 
struggle to recover himself, and then darkness 
as the Overlander sank back unconscious. 


142 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


What hit him Lieutenant Wingate never 
knew, but later on he recalled a jolting journey, 
dimly realized at the time. His awakening 
came late in the night, and when consciousness 
returned he heard the low murmur of conversa¬ 
tion that seemed to come from some distance. 

For some time Lieutenant Wingate lay back 
trying to recover his strength, for he felt weak 
and nauseated. He finally reached for his 
weapons, but found them missing. The Over¬ 
lander next began feeling about in an effort to 
discover his location. His ultimate conclusion 
was that he was in a cave. 

“Some coward slammed me on the head,” 
complained Hippy. “I must have deserved it 
for I shouldn’t have permitted the fellow to get 
close to me. I must look for a way out of this 
hole.” 

The Overland Rider felt his way along with 
extreme care. He found that the further he 
went in one direction the more plainly he could 
hear the conversation that at first had been 
only a distant murmur. This told him that he 
was proceeding in the right direction. The 
cave soon narrowed into a low-roofed tunnel. 
Hippy discovered that fact when his sore head 
came into contact with the roof. The pain from 
the impact caused him to sit down suddenly. 

After a time the Overlander got up, and with 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 143 


a hand held above his head he felt his way 
along. All at once he found himself in the open. 
He could see the sky and the stars, hut noticed 
that the voices he had been hearing were sud¬ 
denly stilled. 

Hippy paused in a listening attitude, head 
thrust forward, ;with fists ready to meet an 
attack. A violent blow on the head once more 
laid Lieutenant Wingate flat on the ground, 
and there he lay on his face. Of what hap¬ 
pened after that he had no knowledge, and 
when finally he awakened it was broad day¬ 
light. Hippy was bound hand and foot—hog- 
tied, as the expression goes in the west. His 
throat was parched and the pain in his head 
nearly drove him frantic. A dense growth of 
mesquite surrounded him, and beyond it he 
could see the tall pines. There was nothing 
to indicate that there was a person within 
miles of him. 

Hippy rested for the better part of an hour 
before attempting to move. 

“Hello!” he shouted. 

There was no response. 

“I suppose I have been left here to die, but 
Pm not ready to go just now. I can roll home 
if I can’t get there any other way.” He there¬ 
upon proceeded to roll. It was terrible work. 
The Overland Rider’s clothing was torn and 


144 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


his whole body was smarting from scratches 
when he finally paused to rest. Then he 
started on again, but halted abruptly. 

Standing within a few feet of Lieutenant 
Wingate stood a much behatted, bespurred and 
bespangled Mexican, with hands resting on his 
hips, a sneer curling his lips. 

“Hello!” greeted the captive. “Glad to see 
you, and now, if you will remove the rope, I 
shall be glad to stretch my nether extremities.” 

The Mexican shrugged his shoulders, but 
made no reply. 

“Are you going to release me?” demanded 
the Overlander with some irritation in his 
voice. 

“No, Senor. It is not for me to say.” 

‘ ‘ Then get someone who has the authority to 
do so. I give you my word that unless I am re¬ 
leased at once someone will die for this out¬ 
rage,” threatened Hippy, but his warning ap¬ 
peared to make no impression on the man be¬ 
fore him, who merely shook his head. A sec¬ 
ond man came along at this juncture, an evil¬ 
faced, beady-eyed individual who reminded 
Hippy of Carlos Gonzales without his oily 
smile. 

A brief consultation ensued, following which 
the Mexicans each grabbed a foot of the captive 
and began dragging him through the bushes. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 145 


“Here, here!” yelled Hippy. “You 
bounders! I’m not ready to be taken out feet 
first.” 

Despite his protestations they continued to 
drag him through the mesquite where he got 
more scratches. Reaching an open spot the 
men roughly threw him under a tree. The 
ground was softer there and proportionately 
more comfortable. Hippy breathed a sigh of 
relief. 

“Water!” begged the captive. 

He was rewarded with laughter, as the men 
strode away and sat down at some distance 
from him, and began speaking in their own 
tongue. 

“I know now what a guerrilla is,” groaned 
Lieutenant Wingate. “I hope I meet one of 
them one of these days on equal footing.” 

Hippy now found himself wondering why he 
and Lemuel had been chosen for attack by the 
guerrillas, but reasoned that it was out of re¬ 
venge for the treatment that Carlos Gonzales 
had had in the Overland camp. 

The Overlander’s train of thought was in¬ 
terrupted by the arrival of a third man, also 
a Mexican. He was booted and spurred and be¬ 
jewelled above the common variety of vaquero , 
and from the way he addressed Hippy’s guards 
the Overlander decided that he was a person 

10 Grace Harlowe and Border Guerrillas 


146 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


in authority. This impression was confirmed 
when the newcomer dismounted and stalked 
over to the captive, whom he greeted with a 
sweeping bow and a superior smile. 

“I’d be obliged if you would leave out the 
trimmings and give me something to eat,” re¬ 
minded Lieutenant Wingate. 

“The Senor has not dined?” questioned the 
newcomer, in mock surprise. 

“Dined! Ha, ha, ha! That’s a good one. I 
will confess that I did chew up a few green 
leaves this morning, but dine? I’ve forgotten 
how. When am I to be released?” 

“When the Senor is dead he will be free to 
go when and where he will. ’ ’ 

“Get out, you crepe-hanger!” 

The Mexican laughed and walked away, 
beckoning to the other two men to follow. He 
halted at a short distance from Hippy and then 
berated the first two Mexicans in his own 
tongue. The captive, while he could not under¬ 
stand what was being said, knew that it was an 
argument—a one-sided one, too—and he was 
delighted, regretting only that he could not add 
his voice to that of the Mexican dandy. The 
latter finally drove the men towards their camp- 
fire, gesticulating and threatening with every 
step. 

“I reckon he was telling them to get him 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 147 


something to eat,” reflected the Overland 
Rider, narrowly watching the preparations for 
cooking. “I hope I don’t smell it. If I do I 
surely shall have hydrophobia.” 

Coffee was made, and then there was some 
cooking over the fire, but Hippy was not in 
position to determine just what they were 
cooking. He saw the Mexican dandy make a 
gesture towards him, and after a parting bom¬ 
bardment of words the fellow mounted and rode 
away. 

“He ordered them to get dinner for me!” 
cried Lieutenant Wingate. “Well, well. He 
isn’t half the savage I thought he was. Hurry 
up with that chuck, you lazy vaqueros!” he 
called, as he saw them coming. 

One man bore a coffee pot, the other a hand¬ 
ful of bacon. The face of each wore a heavy 
scowl. 

“Give me that food, quick. Turn your faces 
the other way. They spoil my appetite. Stop 
it!” 

The man with the bacon had thrust a large 
chunk into Hippy’s mouth and pushed it as 
far down as his finger would reach, and the 
Overlander’s thoughts were divided between 
rage at the manner of feeding him and joy at 
tasting food in his mouth. One piece after 
another was fed to him in quick succession un- 


148 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


til his cheeks stuck out. By this time he was 
heyond words, and could only grunt his dis¬ 
approval and try to roll away from his tor¬ 
turers. His efforts were futile. 

Hippy now having all the bacon in his mouth, 
the man with the coffee pot and a tin cup 
stepped up, the other fellow giving way and 
taking up a position at the captive’s feet where 
he could watch the coffee-drinking. It was not 
exactly drinking, for the man tipped the cup 
and poured its contents full into the mouth of 
the Overland Eider. 

The victim yelled, for the coffee was hot, 
while the Mexican at his feet sitting on his 
haunches was rocking back and forth howling 
with delight. He forgot that the captive had 
feet, but was forcibly reminded of it a moment 
later, when Lieutenant Wingate, quickly rec¬ 
ognizing his opportunity, brought both roped 
feet up with all the force he could muster. The 
toes caught the Mexican under the chin and 
bowled him over backwards. The fellow lay 
where he had fallen for a few seconds, con¬ 
siderably dazed, then staggering to his feet he 
fixed his blazing black eyes on the face of the 
Overland Eider. 

6 ‘ Senor! For that you die! ’’ The last word 
trailed off into a long-drawn, sibilant hiss, as 
the Mexican’s hand slipped to his holster. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 149 


CHAPTER XV 

A VOICE FKOM THE SHADOWS 

“QTOP it, you fool!” thundered Lieutenant 
Wingate. 

The Mexican, startled, hesitated, then 
jerked his weapon out. The brief pause, how¬ 
ever, gave the man’s companion time to act. 
The latter leaped forward, shouting to the irate 
vaquero to stop, and hurling himself be¬ 
tween Lieutenant Wingate and the weapon. 
For a few seconds it looked as if the men would 
end by shooting each other up, and accusa¬ 
tions were exchanged between them at machine- 
gun speed, finally resulting in the angry Mexi¬ 
can shrugging his shoulders and turning away. 

“Manana!” he raged, casting a malignant 
glance over his shoulder at Hippy. 

“Thank you, old man,” grinned the Over¬ 
lander, nodding to the peace-maker. ‘ ‘ That was 
a close call. That other fellow acts mad about 
something . 9 9 

“Senor, it is not to save you, but that there 
are others who must talk to you alive. To talk 
to a dead man is nothing. I could keel you my- 


150 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


self just like tills, ’ ^ and the fellow, drawing his 
weapon, went through in pantomime the mo¬ 
tions of putting the Overland Rider to death. 
“I hate you. See! I kick you!” He gave 
Hippy a violent kick on the shin that brought a 
howl from the captive. The man then strode 
away and joined his companion. 

‘ ‘ Whew!’ ’ exclaimed Hippy. 6 ‘ What a blood¬ 
thirsty lot! I wondered why that ruffian was 
so eager to spare my life but now I know. 
I am to be handed over to the mercies of some 
other fellow, who I presume may be Gonzales. 
I hope he comes around soon. This suspense is 
heart-breaking . 9 9 

While the ruffians appeared to give no 
further heed to their captive, Hippy observed 
that the men remained where they could see 
him, and spent much of their time in pacing 
back and forth. They gave him nothing more 
to eat that day, nor did he ask for food. Once 
was enough. 

The hours dragged wearily on, and Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate found himself getting numb all 
over because the rope that bound him had been 
drawn tightly about his body. He looked for¬ 
ward to the night with apprehension, fearing 
that the man that he had kicked might decide 
to finish him with a knife, with which all Mexi¬ 
cans are quite handy. The Overlander was 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 151 


thankful that he was not gagged. Now he 
could yell, which he decided to do if he saw any¬ 
one approaching. 

A bright fire was built by Hippy’s captors as 
soon as night fell, a much larger fire than was 
necessary Hippy thought, which told him that 
these men plainly were not in fear of discovery. 
Their camp was in a remote part of the moun¬ 
tains where few persons passed, and, though he 
did not know it, was on the direct trail to the 
Border, the trail of smugglers and renegades 
going from the States to Mexico or vice versa . 

It was about nine o ’clock in the evening when 
the captive saw the two men sit up and listen. 
Not long after that he heard something that 
sounded like a body of horsemen approaching 

“I reckon this must be the party that is 
coming to interview me, but somehow I don’t 
fancy meeting him,” reflected the captive. 

A single horseman rode into the camp. Upon 
receiving a nod from the two men he uttered a 
shrill whistle, and a few moments later a party 
of horsemen rode in. 

The captive partly raised himself on one 
elbow and gazed eagerly at the newcomers. 
They were all Mexicans, with the exception of 
one white man, whom Lieutenant Wingate in¬ 
stantly recognized. 

“So, that is the game, is it?” muttered the 


152 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Overland Rider. “I don’t believe I care to 
meet Mm in the present circumstances.” 
“Sh-h-h-h!” 

“Who said that?” demanded Hippy. A 
voice, it seemed, had come out of the air, or 
was it his own imagining? 

“Not a word, Lieutenant!” 

“Eh? Who are you?” demanded Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate sharply. 

“Never mind who I am. Is there anyone 
near you?” 

Hippy said that there was not. A faint 
rustling sound reached his ears, and a few 
seconds later he saw a crouching human form 
stealing up to him. As the man came closer 
the Overlander saw that he wore a handker¬ 
chief over his face below the eyes. 

“Are you tied?” whispered the mysterious 
one. 

“Of course I am. You don’t think I’d be 
hanging around here if I could get away, do 
you?” 

There was no reply, but the hands of the 
newcomer began running over the captive’s 
body. 

“Hog-tied!” muttered the man, severing the 
rope that bound Hippy. “Do you think you 
can walk a short distance?” 

The Overland Rider said he didn’t know, but 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 153 


that there was little or no feeling in his limbs. 
His rescuer said he would assist him, but 
warned Hippy not to stand upright until they 
had got some distance away. 

“We will have to hurry. What were they 
going to do with you 1 ’ 9 

“I don’t know. The worst, I reckon.” 

“Not a word more. They’re coming for 
you! ’ ’ exclaimed the rescuer. 

Hippy found that his limbs threatened to let 
him down the instant he threw his weight upon 
them, but his companion gripped him by an 
arm and assisted him along as rapidly as pos¬ 
sible. Hippy found himself marveling that a 
human being could tread so lightly as did the 
man at his side. Behind them they could al¬ 
ready hear shouts and knew that the escape 
had been discovered. After a time the shouts 
grew fainter and finally ceased altogether. 

“They’ve hit the wrong trail,” announced 
the rescuer grimly. “The danger isn’t over 
yet. We must hurry on for some distance.” 

“Buddy, I’m afraid my underpinning won’t 
hold out unless I first take a rest. Is it far!” 
begged the Overlander. 

“That depends upon how much dodging we 
have to do. ’ ’ The rescuer thereupon struck off 
abruptly to the right, proceeding in that di¬ 
rection for some fifteen minutes, then halting. 


154 


GRACE HARLOWE 


“■Well?” demanded Hippy. 

“Hide yourself here. Lie down and get 
what rest you can. Hungry?” 

“No. Just starved, that’s all. What do you 
propose to do?” 

‘ - I have a horse at some distance from here. 
I’ll fetch it and we will ride out.” 

After leaving a revolver with Lieutenant 
Wingate and giving him a few squares of hard¬ 
tack the rescuer started to leave. In reply to 
an inquiry as to what his name was, he told 
Hippy that he might call him “Bud.” The 
Overlander sat down heavily, well secreted in 
a thicket of shrubbery and attacked the hard¬ 
tack ravenously. It was a delicious morsel to 
a man who had gone without food for so long, 
and, for the time being, led him to forget the 
pain in his limbs. 

“Bud” had said that he probably would not 
return for an hour, so Hippy composed him¬ 
self by lying flat on his back and gazing up at 
the stars, and in his exhaustion soon fell 
asleep with a cake of hardtack in his hand. His 
slumbers were suddenly aroused by a sound. 
He thought he heard a horse approaching, and 
got to his feet to listen. 

“It is a horse! I must have been asleep. 
Either I have had a long nap or Bud has made 
a quick trip.” 



■ mMwmm un i nn fcfc iiii i n i 


Hippy Pulled the Trigger. 
155 


4 









156 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


A rider loomed up in the darkness. Dis¬ 
covering the Overlander almost as quickly as 
Hippy saw him, he reined in. 

‘ ‘Hello, Bud! Is that you?” called Hippy. 

“Yes. Who are you?” came back the an¬ 
swer in a muffled voice that did not sound at 
all familiar to Lieutenant Wingate. 

“Pm Wingate.” 

“Come here,” directed the horseman. 

“Wha—at’s the matter?” stammered Hippy, 
a vague feeling of uneasiness creeping over 
him. He stepped forward, however, his con¬ 
fidence strengthened by the weapon that lay in 
his hand, and, approaching the horse cau¬ 
tiously, peered up at the rider. 

“You aren’t Bud!” cried the Overlander. 
Hippy made a move to leap back, but he was 
not quick enough to avoid a swinging blow from 
the loaded crop that the rider brought down on 
him. As the crop swung towards his head, 
Hippy pulled the trigger of his weapon, stag¬ 
gered a few feet and collapsed at the instant 
that half a dozen other horsemen came up. 
One of their horses had gone down under his 
shot, which went wild. 

Ere the first man and the others who had 
joined him had recovered from the surprise 
that Lieutenant Wingate’s shot gave them, a 
perfect fusillade of revolver shots was poured 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 157 


into them, fired from one side and over the spot 
where Hippy lay. The ruffians fled precipi¬ 
tately, pursued by a lone horseman, now shoot¬ 
ing with an automatic rifle whose heavy reports 
made their scattering replies with revolvers 
seem trifling. It was some moments later when 
the solitary horseman came trotting back to 
the scene of the attack. By this time Hippy 
Wingate had recovered consciousness and was 
sitting up holding his head. 

“ Lieutenant, are you there ?” called the 
horseman. “This is Bud.” 

“That’s what the other fellow said,” groaned 
Hippy. 6 ‘ Come easy. ’ ’ 

The Overlander heard his rescuer laugh, and 
warned him that he had a revolver. 

“Lieutenant, you have killed a horse to¬ 
night. Isn’t that enough?” 

“All right. Come on. I recognize your 
voice now,” invited Hippy. 

Bud joined him immediately and assisted 
Hippy to his feet, the Overlander being still 
dizzy from the blow he had received. 

“I followed those fellows in, but didn’t 
think they would discover you. You can tell me 
about it later. Let’s have a look about, then 
we will get out of here,” said Bud. 

They found two horses, left by the fleeing 
men, one animal dead on the ground, the other 


158 


GRACE HARLOWE AND . 


hitched to the dead one ’s saddle by a lead rope, 
standing with head down, unmindful of what 
was going on about him. 

“There’s a man on that animal!” suddenly 
exclaimed Bud. 

“A man?” wondered Hippy. 

“Yes. Hog-tied, as you were, and gagged— 
a white man,” answered Bud, springing for¬ 
ward and slitting the ropes that bound the man, 
and gently removing the gag from his mouth. 

It was too dark to distinguish the captive’s 
features, nor did he utter a sound. He might 
have been unconscious. Bud saw that he was 
not dead. 

“There, pard, you will be all right in a few 
minutes,” comforted the rescuer. 

“He won’t if he’s had a clip on the head 
same as I got—” began Hippy. 

‘ 4 Hippy! ” It was a weak wail from the man 
they had just released, and it startled Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate into instant alertness. 

“Who—wha—at?” 

“It’s Tom—Tom Gray. Do—on’t you know 
me?” 

“For the love of Mike!” cried Lieutenant 
Hippy Wingate. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 159 


CHAPTER XVI 

A WASHING THAT WAS HEEDED 

“ C PREAD out and be ready for trouble!” 
cried Grace Harlowe, following Arline 
Thayer’s disappearance and her ago¬ 
nized cry. 

The Overland girls, pocket lamps in hand, 
and weapons at ready, dashed into the mes- 
quite, calling out Arline’s name as they ran. A 
w r eak cry answered them, which served to give 
them the direction in which Arline had dis¬ 
appeared. There followed a rush, with Stacy 
and Lemuel bringing up the rear, as usual, 
Stacy waving his revolver to the imminent peril 
of his companions, the colored boy gripping a 
club with which he had armed himself. 

Three quick shots somewhere ahead startled 
the Overland party. The third shot was fol¬ 
lowed by the yell of a man. 

4 ‘Arline!” shouted Grace. 

“He—ere,” answered Miss Thayer in a 
moan. 

“There she is. Oh, Arline!” cried Miss 
Briggs. They were at her side in a moment. 


160 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Are you hurt?” demanded Grace, grasping 
the girl by an arm and lifting her up. 

Stacy, seeing no immediate reason for being 
frightened, began thrashing about in search of 
the cause of the disturbance, with St. Peters¬ 
burg Johnson slightly in advance, eagerly 
looking for trouble. 

“I—I don’t know. Oh, Grace! It was ter¬ 
rible. I—” 

“Never mind now. You shall tell us all 
about it after you have composed yourself,” 
soothed Grace, starting to lead her towards 
camp. Arline, however, insisted on talking, 
which she did hysterically. 

“I heard shouting, and thought I heard a 
shot,” she said. “A girl rushed into my tent 
saying we were attacked and begging me to 
run. I ran with her. We hadn’t gone far be¬ 
fore two men grabbed us. I don’t know what 
happened after that except that she seemed to 
be trying to get away, but they held us and said 
we weren’t to be harmed, but that we must 
come with them, and that, if we didn’t obey, 
they had orders to take us. I think the girl 
knew them. There was something queer about 
it. When I screamed she held her hand over 
my mouth. Grace, what does it mean?” 

“Were the men Mexicans?” questioned Miss 
Briggs. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 161 


Arline said she didn’t know. 

4 4 There were shots fired somewhere near yon. 
Did yon see who did that?” persisted Elfreda. 

4 4 No. The men ran away when the shots 
were fired, and I think one of them was hit. 
Who do yon suppose did that? Was it one of 
yon girls?” begged Arline, looking from one 
face to another. 

4 4 Not unless Lemuel shot at them with his 
club,” chuckled Emma Dean. 44 Lemuel is al¬ 
ways in harmony with his environment. What 
I am wondering about is who chased those 
fellows away. Evidently we have friends at 
hand.’ 7 

44 Look!” cried Nora, pointing to the camp¬ 
fire as they rounded the rock behind which 
their camp was pitched. 

44 It’s a man!” gasped Arline. 

44 Will wonders never cease? It is Mr. Bel- 
den!” cried Grace. 

4 4 Crazy Bill Belden!” Emma halted, the 
color rushing to her face, then she bounded for¬ 
ward to the campfire but Belden did not even 
look up. He was preparing to make coffee. 
4 4 So you are the man who came to the rescue of 
Miss Thayer, are you?” 

44 Don’t know nothin’ ’bout that. I just 
came in heah an’ I reckons to make some coffee 
an’ git on my way,” replied the old prospector. 

11 — sn-Grace Harlowe and Border Guerrillas 


162 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


The girls greeted Bill effusively, to which he 
returned a brief, “How!” They told him he 
must not leave them that night, explaining that 
both Lieutenant Wingate and Captain Gray 
were strangely missing. Belden, however, 
appeared not to be greatly interested in the re¬ 
cital. They tried to induce him to let them 
prepare food for him, but the stubborn old fel¬ 
low refused all attempts to please him, so, after 
putting Arline to bed, they stood about and 
watched him drink his coffee. When he 
finished, he turned the coffee pot upside down 
and banged it on a rock to empty it, wiped it 
out with his hand and stowed it in his kit. 

“Now, Mr. Belden, if you will answer some 
questions you will do us a great service,” said 
Miss Briggs. “What do you think has become 
of Mr. Gray and Mr. Wingate?” 

“I reckons that the guerrillas has got ’em,” 
replied the prospector. 

“Who are the guerrillas?” 

“Mexican bandits, smugglers, everything 
that’s bad an’—” 

“But why should they wish to interfere with 
us?” interrupted Emma. 

“I don’t know nothin’ ’bout that.” 

“Was it the guerrillas that were here just 
now?” questioned Grace. 

“I don’t know, bein’ as I didn’t see ’em.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 163 


Grace asked him if he would do something 
for them. Belden grunted that it depended 
upon what they wished. 

“We wish you to search for our missing 
men. You know these mountains and you know 
the men whom you call guerrillas, ’’ began 
Grace. 

“I don’t know nothin’,” protested the old 
man. 

“I am asking you, will you do it?” persisted 
Grace. “You helped us out to-night. I know it 
was you who drove those ruffians away. If 
you will stay here to-night I know they will 
trouble us no more; then to-morrow, if you will 
go out and try to find our men, we shall be 
under lifelong obligations to you. I don’t offer 
you money because I do not believe you would 
take such an offer kindly. Will you do it, Mr* 
Belden?” 

“I’ll think ’bout it, Miss.” 

“Thank you. Girls, suppose we have some 
coffee and—” 

“Something to eat,” finished Stacy Brown, 
entering camp at this moment. “I’ve driven 
off the bandits and Lemuel is standing guard. 
Now that they know I am here I don’t believe 
they will trouble you ladies any further to¬ 
night. Howdy, Bill. I reckon you’ll be—” 

“Girls!” cried Nora. There was a note in 


164 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


her voice that attracted instant attention. 
“Here’s something pinned to the flap of the 
boys’ tent.” 

Emma ran to her. She peered and dis¬ 
covered a slip of paper fastened to the tent 
flap at about a level with the eyes, but instead 
of removing it, Emma waited until her com¬ 
panions had joined her. 

Miss Briggs removed the pin and carried the 
paper to the light, and opened the folded sheet. 

“Girls, here is another message for us,” 
announced Elfreda. 4 ‘ Still another mystery to 
add to the already long list that have been com¬ 
ing our way. Shall I read it ? ” 

“Yes, yes!” cried the girls. 

‘ ‘ The man who wrote it may be all right, but 
I do wish he would get a pencil that would 
make a legible mark,” averred Elfreda, peering 
at the faint writing, then beginning to read the 
following message: 

“‘Overlanders: Guerrilla bunch plans to 
capture whole party. Can be foiled if you will 
follow directions. Break camp quietly and pro¬ 
ceed due east until foothills are reached. From 
there proceed towards northwest until reach 
El Capitan Rock. Wait there until further 
orders. In breaking camp leave tents so it will 
look as if you were coming back. Take blankets 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 165 


and chuck. Lose no time. Go at once or you 
will be too late. Friends are working for you. 
Go now! The girl got what she came for—in¬ 
formation. 

“ ‘Willy.’ ” 

“That message means business!” declared 
Grace Harlowe with emphasis. “Mr. Belden,. 
do you know where El Capitan Rock is!” she 
demanded, turning to the prospector. 

Bill Belden nodded without removing his 
pipe from his mouth. 

“Then you are going to show us the way. 
Stacy, go get Lemuel and have him throw a 
light pack on the mule and saddle up the ponies 
for us, and be ready to move in ten minutes.” 
Grace gave her orders hurriedly. 

Belden did not appear to be at all interested 
in the preparations for departure, but when 
they were ready to move he got up, yawned 
and removed the pipe from his mouth. 

“You are going with us, aren’t you!” begged 
Emma anxiously. 

Belden shook his head, whereupon there was 
a wail of protest from the Overland girls. 

“I’ve got other things to do besides traipsin’ 
’round with a bunch o’ gals. Foller the pass 
that you’ll find straight east from heah till you 
git into the foothills. Keep on till you finds an 


166 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


open stretch; then head north till yon reach the 
open plain. Thar yon ’ll see a clump of rocks 
with a bigger one in the middle. That’s El Cap- 
itan Rock and not El Capitan Mountain. Git to 
it soon as yon can, an’ stay there. Don’t show 
yerselves nohow. There’s water there. Don’t 
be slow ’bout it neither. Git goin’ an’ keep 
goin’!” 

“Yes, but what if the men who are missing 
should come here and find ns gone ? ’ ’ protested 
Emma. 

“Don’t worry none ’bout them. Hustle!” 

The Overland girls rode from camp not at all 
positive that they were doing the right thing, 
though they were convinced that Crazy Bill 
Belden knew more than he was willing to admit. 
The going was rough and none knew the way, 
and a few spills resulted, Arline suffering most 
from these. After making all speed possible 
for the better part of an hour, the party halted, 
having reached the eastern end of the pass, 
with the foothills just ahead. 

A distant gun shot was heard far to the rear. 
It was followed by scattering fire that kept up 
for some time. 

“Rifles!” exclaimed Miss Briggs. 

“Yes,” agreed Grace. “The attack on the 
camp has started, and my belief is that Mr. 
Belden is defending it. He has stayed there 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 167 


for that very purpose. Some day we shall 
know who he is, hut just now we can do no 
more than class him as one of the many myster¬ 
ies that have enveloped us.” 

“Grace! Isn’t that something moving yon¬ 
der just beyond Stacy? Wha—at can it be?” 
whispered Emma Dean. 

“I don’t see anything but bushes stirring in 
the breeze,” answered Grace, trying to pierce 
the early morning haze with her eager gaze. 
4 ‘You must be mistaken, dear. I—” 

A darting tongue of light flashed forth from 
the bushes followed by the report of Stacy 
Brown’s revolver, and a repressed yell. 

“I got him. Look out for yourselves!” 
shouted Stacy. 


168 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER XYII 

ON A SECRET MISSION 

“r-pOM GRAY, is it really you?” begged 
Lieutenant Hippy Wingate, after he 
and Bud had released the Overlander 
from his horse and assisted him to the ground. 

“Yes. What is left of me. Have they 
gone?” 

“I chased them off. They thought they were 
attacked by a bunch ,’ 9 chuckled Bud. “You fel¬ 
lows must get out of here hot foot. They are 
likely to be sneaking back any minute. Take 
a horse apiece, and I/ll lead. Give them the 
rein, and they’ll follow me. Don’t talk out loud 
until I tell you it is safe*to do so.” 

“Tom, old man!” breathed Hippy, giving 
his companion’s hand a warm grip after Cap¬ 
tain Gray had been assisted to the back of the 
Mexican pony to which he previously had been 
bound by his captors. “You can tell me about 
it later, but I’m sure glad to have you with me. 
Just one question. Are the girls all right?” 

“They were when I left them. I don’t know 
what may have happened since.” 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 169 


“Hustle !” urged Bud. 

The little party moved on in silence, only the 
tread of the ponies and the creaking of leather 
relieving the quietness of their progress. Bud 
strode along in the lead for some time, then 
they detoured to the left and plunged into a 
deep pass. There they halted to permit the 
horses to drink. 

“Are we headed for our camp?” questioned 
Tom anxiously. 

“You are headed for a camp, hut not for 
yours just yet,” was the unexpected reply. 

“Eh?” demanded Hippy. “I want to know 
where we are going?” 

“You’ll know when you get there,” was the 
brief reply. 

“It’s your move, Buddy,” answered Hippy 
after slight hesitation. “You have done us a 
big service and I willingly place myself in your 
hands, but we must get back to our folks as 
soon as possible. We are worried about them, 
old top.” 

44 Forget it! From what I hear they can take 
care of themselves. There is one thing that I 
want to say: You are to ask no questions, and 
you are to keep to yourselves whatever you may 
hear or see so far as my affairs are concerned. 
Does it go?” 

44 It goes, ’ ’ answered Hippy. 4 4 Isn’t it about 


170 GRACE HARLOWE AND 

time we let Captain Gray tell what happened to 
him!” 

“I know it already. He may tell yon, if he 
wishes. I might say that when I went after my 
horse I came across the guerrillas who had him 
in tow and followed them as closely as I dared. 
When the guerrillas met up with you, you 
thought it was myself coming and you gave 
yourself away.” 

Hippy admitted the charge. 

4 4 Those fellows were taking the captain to 
the camp where you were being held when I 
found you. What they were going to do with 
you two I don’t know. We should worry about 
that now. There is a man in their camp now 
trying to find out what their purpose was. 
We’ll be going now.” 

The three men started on, Bud striding ahead 
at a rapid pace, and as they rode Tom told his 
companion as much of his own experience as he 
could recall. He had had a gun-battle with two 
men and was finally downed by a heavy blow, 
much in the same way that Hippy had been 
crippled. From then on until he found him¬ 
self a prisoner in a hole in the ground, he re¬ 
membered nothing. He was kept in the ‘‘ dark 
hole,” as he called it, until that very evening, 
when he was bound to the back of a mustang 
and began the rough ride that, due to Hippy 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 171 


and Bud, had come to an abrupt ending. 

The guide now turned into a narrow pass 
and, after proceeding through this for some 
distance, they came into a broad, rugged valley, 
and there Bud halted his charges, telling them 
to wait there until he returned. They heard 
him utter a shrill whistle, which, after a brief 
interval, was answered in kind. He then dis¬ 
appeared, the two Overlanders waiting anx¬ 
iously and wondering what it was all about. 

“Follow me!” ordered a voice close at hand, 
so close that it startled both men. 

‘ ‘ You aren’t Bud. Who are you ? 9 9 demanded 
Captain Gray. 

i ‘It’s all right. Bud is with the Chief. You 
are to come with me. Get down and leave your 
horses here.” 

“I’ll try most anything once,” returned 
Hippy good-naturedly, dismounting and tying 
his pony to a sapling: Tom did likewise, then 
turned and followed their guide. They soon 
discovered a campfire ahead. A small group 
of men were lounging about smoking their 
pipes, and just outside the circle of light silent 
figures were to be observed wrapped in blankets 
and apparently asleep. 

“What are we up against I” whispered Tom. 

“You may search me,” answered Lieuten¬ 
ant Wingate. 


172 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“How are you, gentlemen?” greeted a pleas¬ 
ant youthful voice as a man stepped out of the 
shadows. “Captain Gray, I am glad to know 
you,” he added, shaking hands with Tom, then 
doing the same with Hippy as he called the lat¬ 
ter’s name. “Sit down over here where we 
shall not he heard.” 

They followed him, amazed at the man’s 
being able to call them by name while they were 
wholly unable to make out a single line of his 
features owing to the darkness. To be sure 
the stranger’s broad-brimmed hat was pulled 
well down over his eyes and his chin was set 
firmly on his chest. His shoulders, they ob¬ 
served, were poised in such a way as to indi¬ 
cate strength, and a great deal of it. 

“You fellows have had rather a rough time 
of it, eh?” he chuckled. 

“We are pretty well used to it now,” an¬ 
swered Hippy. “Where the Overland Riders 
go there ordinarily is excitement.” 

“So I understand,” nodded the stranger. 
‘ ‘ Much of it could have been prevented had we 
not been otherwise engaged. I presume you 
are wondering where and why—” 

“Yes. We are,” agreed Tom. “In the first 
place, where are we and why are we kidnapped 
in this refined fashion? I’m not used to the 
method,” he added laughingly. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 173 


“You are in a secret rendezvous of the Texas 
Rangers/’ replied the stranger in a half 
whisper, “and I am not deceiving you when I 
tell you that I know you could find your way 
here again without help. You are too good a 
forester not to be able to do that. I will say 
also that I have every confidence in you; other¬ 
wise you would not be here.” 

“Thanks for your confidence,” murmured 
Hippy in a half chuckle. 

“None of the men here, with possibly two ex¬ 
ceptions, are aware of my reason for inviting 
you here to-night—bringing you here, I should 
say,” corrected the Ranger. “That is imma¬ 
terial at the moment. The border guerrillas 
have been unusually active of late and—” 
“Then why not get after them?” interrupted 
Hippy. “Don’t you know who they are?” 

“Yes. We know some of them, and so do you 
gentlemen, but we do not yet know the reason 
for their activity. They seem to have broken 
out in several directions, kidnapping, raiding, 
robbing, attacking without apparent reason, 
and that is what bothers us. We could of 
course arrest the leaders we know, but what 
we are trying to find out is the motive for all 
this banditry. Once we know that we shan’t 
have to look far for the remedy,” concluded 
the Ranger grimly. 


174 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


1 ‘ Your voice sounds familiar. Haven’t I met 
you before?” wondered Hippy. 

“Possibly. It stands to reason that we can’t 
successfully cover all this territory at one time. 
We have certain definite points to keep under 
constant observation and that is about the best 
we can do with our limited force.” 

“You wish to use our outfit? Is that it?” 
questioned Tom Gray. 

“Yes. You are traveling through the moun¬ 
tains. You are both soldiers, experienced men, 
and the ladies of your party have nerve. Don’t 
misunderstand me. I don’t wish to mix them 
up in any affair of ours. At this time, however, 
your entire party, to a certain extent, is in¬ 
volved, for the guerrillas appear to have it in 
for you all. Gonzales, of course, has a special 
grievance against you folks, and so has Pat 
Proll, but back of it there is something more. 
You may, and probably will, have trouble with 
them right along, but we shall do the best we 
can to protect you. Beyond that you will have 
to go it on your own.” 

“We will do that all right,” promised Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate. 

“Now what is it that you wish us to do for 
you?” asked Tom Gray. 

“Go on into the Guadalupes. Keep your 
eyes open. Roam about and observe closely. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 175 


You will see a Mexican now and then. Find 
out if you can what he is up to, but don’t let 
any of them know that you are watching. It 
might cause further trouble for your outfit. 
You can go hunting as an excuse. In an emer¬ 
gency one of you will have to ride to Post 
Number One, the location of wdiich I will give 
you before you leave here. One blaze on a tree 
on the north side will mean that you have in¬ 
formation for me. Two blazes on the south 
side of a tree will mean that you are facing an 
emergency. Use this process in case you should 
find no one at Post Number One to receive your 
messages. Four whistles with an interval be¬ 
tween the third and fourth will be your signal, 
and the same with rifle or revolver shots. 
Leave a written message at Post Number One 
if you must, but be cautious. ’ ’ 

4 ‘That’s all right, but how are we going to 
find these bandits in that big mountain range ? ’ ’ 
questioned Tom Gray. 

“It’s like hunting bear up in the polar re¬ 
gions. You don’t have to hunt the bear—he 
hunts you,” answered the Ranger laughingly. 
“You are now commissioned deputy Rangers 
with full authority. I stand back of you in 
whatever you may see fit to do, knowing that 
you will always act with judgment. It probably 
will not be necessary for any of your party to 


176 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


know of yonr connection with ns, but do as you 
think best about informing them.” 

“Yes. How about our outfit? We want to 
get back to our camp before daylight if pos¬ 
sible,’ ? urged Tom. 

“Your camp has been stalked by guerrillas 
all the evening, and probably is being attacked 
at this moment,” announced the Ranger. 

“What!” Hippy and Tom sprang up. 

“Don’t get excited. Your folks aren’t there. 
They are well on their way to another camping 
place, and the old place is being occupied by a 
fellow who will give the guerrillas a real sur¬ 
prise. I will see that you are guided to the new 
place shortly. In the meantime have a snack 
with me.” The Ranger clapped his hands. 
“A snack!” he said in answer to the reply to 
his hail. Coffee and biscuit were brought in a 
few moments, and while the three men were 
eating they discussed the work that Tom and 
Hippy were to do for the Texas Rangers. 

“Horses are ready,” finally announced their 
host. “One of them is the pony belonging to 
the Mexicans who captured you two men. It is 
probably a stolen animal, but when you get 
through with him just turn him loose and he 
will find his way to his owner. The guide who 
shows you to your camp will lead back our 
mustang—” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 177 


A Ranger approaching at a brisk stride, in¬ 
terrupted the conversation, Hippy and Tom re¬ 
garding him curiously, for the man plainly was 
in haste. 

‘ 4 Well? What is it, Cale?” demanded their 
commanding officer as the man halted, raising 
his hand to his hat brim. 

“The lookout just got a flash that that Over¬ 
land party is mixin , it up with the Greasers!” 
announced the newcomer, an announcement 
that brought Tom and Hippy to their feet on 
the instant. 

“Yes. I know,” nodded the Ranger officer. 
“They aren’t in that camp, Cale. The Over¬ 
land party left there some time ago. If there 
is someone there, you know who it may be.” 

“Yes, I know, Cap, but this ain’t at the camp. 
The flash says that the bunch of women got 
ambushed by the Greasers at the mouth of Two- 
mile Pass while they was hikin’ for another 
camp.” 

“Flash the alarm and send all the men you 
can spare from here. I can’t go. Captain 
Gray, you and Lieutenant Wingate of course 
will go, but you will have to ride some. This 
man will be in command, and you will obey his 
orders. Let’s go! Here’s your credentials,” 
he whispered, pressing a folded paper into 
Tom Gray’s hand. 

12—>—Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


178 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


The two Overland men were in their saddles 
almost as soon as the quick-acting Eangers had 
hit their own leather, and as the party gal¬ 
loped from the hidden camp the Overland men 
observed a tiny light twinkling from the moun¬ 
tain-top in the rear of the camp. At first they 
thought it was a star, hut a second quick glance 
told their eyes, experienced in reading signals 
in war-time, that a far-flung message was being 
sent in little dots and dashes, picked up, no 
doubt, by keen Eanger eyes from other promi¬ 
nent points in that section. Had they but 
known of the efficiency of this border legion, 
they would have realized that even then men 
were riding hard on their way to the assistance 
of the girls of the Overland party. Whether 
or not they could reach the scene in time was 
problematical even to the Eangers. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 179 


CHAPTER XVIII 

THE AMBUSH 

F OE, goodness’ sake, back up!” begged 
Elfreda Briggs, who was well in the 
lead with Stacy at the time the latter 
fired his revolver. 

“Yes, ride back a few rods,” urged Grace. 
“Be lively!” 

The reason for this move was that Miss 
Briggs was positive that she had seen several 
figures ahead near the mouth of the pass to the 
eastward. The Overlanders had been follow¬ 
ing it from its westerly end as directed by 
Crazy Bill Belden. The others of the party 
now quickly wheeled their ponies about and re¬ 
treated a short distance to a spot where the 
shadows were deeper and the opportunities 
for hiding greater. Only one shot had been 
fired, but the silence following it was more 
oppressive to the girls than would have been a 
volley of rifle fire. 

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to keep going 
on the back trail? We know there are prowlers 
to the eastward,” suggested Elfreda. 


180 


GEACE HABLOWE AND 


“No. I have another idea about this affair,’’ 
answered Grace. “We will dismount, take our 
rifles with us, and keep close together, at a dis¬ 
tance from our horses. That is my advice. We 
shall have to meet emergencies as they arise.” 

‘ * Some one ought to find out what we are up 
against, ’ ’ declared Miss Briggs. ‘ 1 1 don’t mind 
doing it myself, as I, for one, want to know who 
those mysterious figures we saw, are.” 

“No, no,” protested the girls. 

“Missie, Ah 11 do it,” offered Lemuel. 

“That is splendid of you,” complimented 
Emma. “It doesn’t seem fair, though. You 
might be caught again and get another bump 
on your head.” 

“Dat’s all right, Missie. Ah’s black an’ dey 
can’t see me in de dark. Ah’s got mah club, 
too, an’ Ah wants ter hit er haid wid it—Ah 
wants ter hit hard, too.” 

“Go on, but be careful,” directed Grace. 
“We can’t afford to lose you, Lemuel.” 

The girls dismounted, led their ponies 
quietly to one side and tethered them, following 
which the Overlanders crept cautiously after 
Lemuel, who had promptly started to recon- 
noiter. Stacy Brown led the party in its ad¬ 
vance, he having been strictly forbidden to use 
his weapons unless shot at. That opportunity 
came ere they had proceeded very far. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 181 


A sudden flash shot out in the darkness 
ahead, hut the report was not preceded by the 
whine of a bullet, so the Overlanders did not 
believe it had been fired in their direction. 
Stacy, however, let go at the flash, but no an¬ 
swering shot followed. 

‘‘Back up!’’ ordered Grace. “We are in for 
trouble. Poor Lemuel. I believe that shot was 
fired at him, and if—” 

“Doan’ shoot,’’ called an anxious voice. 
“It’s Lem. Whar you-all?” 

‘ ‘ Here, here! Right here, ’ ’ answered Emma. 
“Hurry and tell us what you discovered.” 

“Ah hit er feller ovah the haid,” announced 
the colored boy proudly. “Ah hit him like Ah 
was hit t’other time, Ah did. Den another fel¬ 
ler shot at me, but Ah wasn’t whar de bullet 
went nohow. What you-all reckons dey’s 
goin’ ter do ter you-all?” 

“Tell me what you discovered,” ordered 
Grace, giving the boy a shake. “How many 
men did you see ? ’ ’ 

“Ah seen er lot of ’em. Dey’s all ’round 
dar waitin’ fer something, Ah doan’ know 
what. Dey seen me an’ I reckoned it war time 
fer me ter git out when dat feller shot at me. 
You-all got ter shoot back. Dat’s what you got 
ter do; den dey’ll know dey’s folks heah who 
kin shoot. Den you got ter hide yerselves.” 


182 


GEACE HARLOWE AND 


“How are we going to know where to shoot 
if we can’t see anything to shoot at?” won¬ 
dered Miss Briggs. 

“Jest plug away, dat’s all,” advised Lemuel. 

“All right. Here goes,” cried Stacy, and 
before they could stop him he was firing his 
rifle into the bushes ahead and to either side of 
the pass until the pass echoed to the rolling re¬ 
ports of his weapon. 

“Stop it!” cried Miss Briggs as she sprang 
forward and grabbed the fat boy’s arm. 

To the amazement of the Overland Riders, 
not a shot was fired in return. 

“They have gone!” cried Nora joyously. 

“No, I don’t believe it,” answered Grace. 
“That, apparently, is what they wish us to be¬ 
lieve so that we may proceed eastward and 
walk into their trap. Part of Lemuel’s advice 
is good, however. We must secrete ourselves. 
The only alternative is to return towards our 
deserted camp, which I do not believe would be 
a bit safer.” 

“Let’s do something urged Miss Briggs. 
“Sooner or later they are going to rush us. 
That probably will separate us, and then, 
Heaven only knows what will happen.” 

“That may be exactly what they are plan¬ 
ning to do when they think we are off our 
guard,” spoke up Emma. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 183 


“Oh, let’s run,” begged Arline tremulously, 
her teeth chattering audibly. “Let’s go back 
the way we came. If I stay here much longer 
I shall die.” 

“Listen, girls,” said Grace, who had been 
nondering over their problem. “I think our 
best plan would be to climb up the side of the 
pass, which we can easily do, but we must first 
find out if the way is clear. Lemuel, you go up 
one side and Mr. Brown will go up the other 
and investigate. Stacy, leave your rifle here. 
It will be in your way in climbing, and further, 
I don’t dare trust you with it. Make all pos¬ 
sible haste. I am going to investigate farther 
back in the pass towards camp and see what I 
can discover in that direction. You girls keep 
a sharp lookout the other way, but for good¬ 
ness’ sake keep down so you don’t get hit in 
case anything is started.” After a further cau¬ 
tion to Stacy and a word of warning to Lemuel 
the three set out on their mission, leaving four 
anxious Overland girls awaiting their return. 

Grace was the first to return after a short 
absence. Lemuel came running in a few mo¬ 
ments later. 

“Ah seen two fellers up thar. Dey-all seen 
me, too, but dey didn’t shoot. Why dat?” he 
panted. 

“Probably because they do not wish us to 


184 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


know they are there,” suggested Elfreda 
Briggs. 4 ‘Here comes Stacy. Well? What 
news ? ’’ 

“All clear on the south side of the pass. I’ll 
stake my reputation on that.” 

“Your what?” questioned Emma, hut no one 
laughed. The Overlanders were not in a laugh¬ 
ing mood at that critical moment. 

“We will try it,” announced Grace. “Every¬ 
body keep quiet and hope for the best.” After 
a moment’s silent listening the girls started 
cautiously for the south side of the pass, which 
they gained in a few moments, and, led by 
Stacy and Lemuel, began climbing up the moun¬ 
tainside. The slope was steep, but not smooth, 
making climbing comparatively easy, but ne¬ 
cessitating the utmost care that no fragments 
of rock were dislodged. Now and then they 
would pause to listen. 

The party had progressed about fifty feet 
upward in a direct line when Lemuel came 
wriggling back to them. 

“What is it?” whispered Miss Briggs. 

“Dey’s er man up dar. Ah seen him agin de 
sky, an’ he’s lookin’ down inter de pass. Whar 
we go now, Ah wants ter know?” 

Elfreda passed the word to Grace who com¬ 
municated it to her companions just as Stacy 
joined them. He, too, had discovered that they 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 185 


were not alone on that side of the pass which he 
previously had pronounced safe. 

‘ 4 Work cautiously to the left,” whispered 
Grace. “There may be only one man there, 
and if so he may go down soon.” She did not 
explain by what process of reasoning she had 
arrived at that conclusion, but began edging 
her way along to the left, followed by her com¬ 
panions, Arline making many slips. 

“I can’t go any farther,” finally gasped Miss 
Thayer. “I fear I am going to faint.” 

“Grace says come on. She has found a hid¬ 
ing place for us,” Elfreda informed her. 
* * Come slowly, and for goodness ’ sake buck up. ’ ’ 

The “hiding place” they found to be a de¬ 
pression in the side of the mountain, protected 
by a shelf of rock that extended out over it, 
forming a roof. The approaches on either side 
were rather smooth, but the girls reached the 
haven without mishap and sank down uttering 
sighs of relief. 

“Now, girls,” whispered Grace, “not a loud 
word is to be spoken nor a shot fired to reveal 
our position. I believe we shall be safe here 
until morning, and even then we may be able to 
keep out of sight by lying flat on the rock. Now 
we’ll see what happens—” 

“Sh-h-h-h!” warned Nora. 

Some one was speaking; then several voices 


186 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


were heard. At first the little Overland party 
were at a loss to understand where the sounds 
came from, then suddenly realized that the 
speakers were directly over them, probably 
standing on the very rock-roof that sheltered 
their hiding place. 

“We are surrounded on all sides,” whis¬ 
pered Grace. “Not a move, not a word above 
a whisper or we shall be lost! Oh!” 

A crashing volley was fired somewhere to the 
westward of them on the trail that they had 
followed in their flight. They could see the 
flashes, and immediately below them in the pass 
they could hear men running through the 
bushes and scrambling up the mountainside in 
frantic efforts to escape. 

“Ah reckons Ah’s gwine lose dat fool mule,” 
observed St. Petersburg Johnson anxiously. 

“Hark! Listen to that, will you? What 
does it mean?” wondered Emma. 

A score of rifles to the westward boomed out 
in a crashing volley, apparently in answer to 
the first shots the Overland girls had heard. 
The shots were followed by shouts. Then men 
came down the pass towards their hiding place, 
some on horses, some on foot, while behind 
them rifles were hastening their flight. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 187 


CHAPTER XIX 

RANGERS TAKE A HAND 

T HE thuds of a larger body of galloping 
horses were now heard approaching 
by the Overlanders. These riders 
were plainly in pursuit of the fleeing men who 
were rushing through the pass, the pursuers 
firing continuously as they came on at a furi¬ 
ous pace. 

All at once the hoof-beats and the firing of 
the pursuers ceased, and sudden silence settled 
over the dark valley. 

“Wha—at does it mean?” whispered Nora 
Wingate. 

“A party has come down the pass and at¬ 
tacked the men who were trying to ambush us, 
I should say,” replied Elfreda Briggs. 

“Sh-h-h! Not so loud,” warned Emma. 
“The men over us might hear.” 

Grace said she believed that those men on the 
rock above them had gone away, too. For some 
moments after that no sound was heard from 
any direction; then the silence was suddenly 
broken by the long-drawn bray of LemuePs 


188 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


mule. Following that almost instantly a rifle 
was fired immediately below the watchers, and 
from either side of the pass flashes were seen, 
followed by booming reports within a few yards 
of the Overland position. 

The girls instantly threw themselves down 
as a bullet pinged against the rock behind them. 

6 6 Help! I’m hit! ’’ cried Arline. 

“Be quiet!” commanded Elfreda, springing 
up, regardless of the peril that she was invit¬ 
ing, and dragging Arline as far back into the 
depression as possible. Grace assisted in plac¬ 
ing the girl where they could give her atten¬ 
tion. 

“Where are you hurt?” demanded Grace. 

“In my leg,” Arline was moaning. 

“Grace, I must have a light. Cover it with 
your skirt just for a moment, and I will see if 
she really has been hit,” directed Miss Briggs. 

The Overland girl’s skirt having been ad¬ 
justed to shut in the light, Elfreda examined 
the injured leg. Her examination was com¬ 
pleted in a moment. 

“All right,” she announced, snapping off the 
light and uncovering her head. 

“Is it bad?” questioned Grace. 

“It is not a bullet wound at all, but the flesh 
has been punctured. I think a bullet must have 
snipped off a piece of rock, which must have 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 189 


hit her. The wound is of no consequence at all, 
hut it should be dressed. That we cannot do 
until we can get my kit. Arline, buck up. You 
are all right. Lie right where you are.” 

The girls breathed sighs of relief. During 
all this time down in the pass the firing had con¬ 
tinued unceasingly but the shooting now be¬ 
came scattering. The watchers observed, too, 
that the combatants had worked eastward well 
down towards the mouth of the pass, so that 
the girls were now able to stand up without 
courting death. 

“They’ve got ’em on the run,” cried Stacy. 

“Who has who on the run?” demanded 
Emma, but Stacy couldn’t even guess. The 
others now found time to wonder who it was 
that had come to their rescue. As yet they 
dared make no sign to indicate where they 
were, not knowing whether it were friend or 
foe that had driven out their attackers. 

Another and smaller group of horsemen gal¬ 
loped down the pass at this juncture, and a 
shrill whistle from one of them was answered 
from somewhere on the opposite side of the 
pass. A bird call farther to the east followed 
closely after the whistles. 

“What does it all mean?” wondered Nora. 

“Just another mystery, that’s all,” averred 
Elfreda Briggs. 


190 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Hark!” cried Grace. 

“ O-v-e-r-l-a-n-d! ” came the familiar long- 
drawn cry. 

“Hippy!” screamed Nora. “Here! Here, 
np on the side of the mountain. It’s Hippy! 
We’re saved, girls! We’re saved! Hurry, 
let’s go.” 

“Wait!” cautioned Miss Briggs. 

Someone began scrambling up towards them. 
The girls could hear him coming, but failed to 
make out who it was in the darkness. 

6 6 Who are you ? ’ ’ demanded Emma. i ‘ Speak 
or we’ll shoot.” 

“It’s Tom,” answered a strained voice. 
“Are you all there?” 

“Yes. All here, and safe and sound, Tom,” 
answered Grace. “You came just in time.” 

“No, I didn’t,” replied Tom as he scrambled 
to their perch. “We were a long way from 
here when the word came that you girls were 
in trouble. A bunch of Texas Rangers got here 
ahead of our party of Rangers. You may thank 
them for saving you. We heard the shooting 
some time before we got here, and feared the 
worst. The Rangers are pursuing that bunch 
of ruffians now. I hope they kill them all,” 
added Tom savagely. “We found two dead 
ones. Did you girls hit anyone?” 

Grace said no. 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 191 


“The Rangers wish you to get out of the 
pass as soon as possible. They want to clean 
up that bunch, and to be free to shoot at any¬ 
one they see, which they can’t do while they 
know you are here. They want you out of the 
way before daylight. The trouble is not yet 
over.” 

“Perhaps those Ranger men think we are 
staying here because we are enamored of the 
scenery,” observed Emma Dean. 

“Let’s go,” urged Elfreda. 

The girls began scrambling down the moun¬ 
tainside at once, Arline assisted by Tom. 
Hippy and another man sat their ponies await¬ 
ing them. 

“Where are your horses?” demanded Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate. “Get to them and let’s get 
out of this. We can talk afterward. This 
gentleman is going to pilot us to a safe place,” 
he said, nodding to a man near him. 

Lemuel and Stacy led the way to their ponies, 
which were found unharmed and browsing in 
perfect contentment. It took but a few mo¬ 
ments to get the party under way, led by a 
silent rider who had not yet spoken. Not a 
human being did they see on their way out, but 
their progress was not unobserved. Watchful 
guarding eyes noted their every movement as 
they passed out through the mouth of the pass. 


192 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


They had progressed about half a mile from 
the pass and entered a stretch of open country 
at the base of the foothills, just as day began 
to dawn. The guide struck off at a gallop after 
a searching look at the graying mountains. He 
saw something. 

6 ‘ Eide! ’’ he shouted. 6 ‘ Spread out and ride. 
Come on, you fellow with the mule!” 

The words had barely passed his lips when 
bullets began to whistle overhead, followed by 
the boom of rifles somewhere to the left. 

The guide’s horse went down and the animal 
rolled over on its side and lay still. 

6 ‘Go on!” he yelled as the Overlanders pulled 
their ponies down. 

“We won’t leave you here,” flung back 
Lieutenant Wingate. i ‘ Come up here with me! 
Don’t be a fool.” 

The Eanger sprang on Hippy’s horse, which 
now took the lead, and the outfit rode off at top 
speed. For a few moments bullets continued 
to sing over them; then a new note sounded in 
the mountains, the sound of other guns. It was 
plain to their experienced ears that the ruffians 
who had been shooting at them were now en¬ 
gaged with other opponents. 

“The Eangers have them now,” cried Hippy 
encouragingly, as they galloped into a sandy 
stretch. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 193 


CHAPTER XX 

A SURPRISE AT EL CAPITAL 

A STEADY pace was maintained for the 
next hour, which took the Overland 
party and their gnide a long distance 
from the scene of the ambnsh that had been 
laid for them. 

“Where is this place we are headed for?” 
questioned Hippy, turning to the Ranger. 

“Headed fer the rocks dead ahead. The 
highest rock you see there is the El Capitan 
Rock. Some difference between that and El 
Capitan Mountain, eh ?’ ’ 

“You’re right. Say, Buddy, what have those 
guerrillas got against us that they would try 
to shoot up the girls of this outfit?” questioned 
Lieutenant Wingate. 

“That’s what the Chief wants to find out, 
and when he does there’ll be some dead 
Greasers ’long this border.” 

“Was it the Chief that I was talking with 
last night?” 

“Pardner, if he’d wanted you to know who 
he is he’d have told you, don’t you reckon?” 

13 ———Grace Earlowe and Border Guerrillas 


194 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“I reckon,’’ agreed Hippy, taking the rebuke 
good-naturedly. “I hope he and I meet again 
one of these days.” 

“You’re doin’ something for him, ain’t 
you?” 

“Pardner, if he’d wanted you to know, he 
would have told you, wouldn’t he?” came back 
Hippy, whereat the Ranger behind him 
coughed, then uttered a “ha-ha” that was 
heard by every member of the Overland party. 

Shortly after that they were picking their 
way in among the rocks that rose out of a thick 
growth of mesquite, as rugged and cheerless 
a scene as the Overland Riders ever had looked 
upon. The Ranger and Hippy continued on 
through the tangle, the former apparently 
knowing his way. 

“Here’s the place,” he announced as they 
rounded El Capitan Rock itself and found 
themselves in an open space, set in a frame of 
mesquite and misshapen rocks. 

“What’s that?” demanded Hippy, reining 
in his pony. “What’s that stuff yonder?” 

“Our tents!” cried Grace in amazement. 
“How in the world did our equipment get here? 
Elfreda, what do you think of that?” 

‘ ‘Nothing—nothing at all. I have ceased try¬ 
ing to solve mysteries. It is too great a tax 
for my head.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 195 


“That is why we let Stacy Brown do our 
solving/’ spoke up Emma. “Mr. Ranger, per¬ 
haps you can tell us how our equipment has 
transported itself here,” she said, turning to 
the guide. 

The Ranger shook his head. 

“You folks will stay here to-night / 9 he said. 
“Don’t break camp till after ten o’clock to¬ 
night. At ten look due south to the top of the 
peak you see up there. If it’s all right for you 
to go on you’ll get a three-flash signal from a 
fellow. If you don’t see the flash don’t move. 
That’s all.” 

“What kind of a signal is a three-flash sig¬ 
nal?” wondered Stacy. 

“Three winks from a flashlight, young fel¬ 
ler,” answered the Ranger. Declining a cor¬ 
dial invitation to stay and have breakfast with 
them, he abruptly set off on foot. Hippy called 
to him to take the Mexican pony, but the 
Ranger told him to use the animal to carry 
their equipment into the Guadalupes, and then 
set the beast adrift. 

The Overlanders were still talking about the 
recovery of their equipment, but no theory 
seemed to fit its mysterious appearance at their 
new camp site. The stuff, however, was in a 
jumble, and amid much good-natured grum¬ 
bling they began straightening it out, first giv- 


196 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


ing attention to their stores of food, which were 
found intact. So far as they were able to dis¬ 
cover, not a single thing was missing. 

‘ ‘ I want food, ’’ demanded Hippy. i ‘ The rest 
of the work can wait. Is there water to be had 
in this hotel ?” 

“Yes, sah,” answered Lemuel. “Dey’s er 
spring right obah dar. Ah gwine water dat 
fool mule right smart, sah, den—” 

“You get water for breakfast first, young 
man. Water the mule afterwards. You don’t 
think we want to drink after a mule, do you?” 
demanded Hippy. 

While the other girls were getting breakfast, 
Elfreda further examined Arline’s injured leg 
and found it somewhat swollen. She dressed 
the wound, and by the time breakfast was 
served on a blanket laid on a slab of rock, Ar¬ 
line’s nerves had so far settled down that she 
was able to laugh at one of Hippy’s witticisms. 
During breakfast experiences were exchanged, 
Hippy and Tom telling the story of their cap¬ 
ture and rescue, the girls in turn narrating 
the story of their flight following a mysterious 
message from “Willy,” and the resulting am¬ 
bush in Two-mile Pass. 

In view of the fact that they expected to 
move on that night, only one tent was erected, 
so that the girls might have a chance to rest. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 197 


Then they assorted and lashed such of their 
equipment as would not be needed that day. 

It was late afternoon when Tom Gray awak¬ 
ened and smiled up at the faithful colored boy, 
who, perched on a point of vantage, was keep¬ 
ing guard over the camp. Lemuel responded 
to the smile by showing his gleaming teeth and 
the whites of his eyes, whereupon Tom Gray 
threw an arm over his head and again went 
to sleep. 

Night was upon them when the camp was 
awakened by ‘ 4 Let’s go!” from Elfreda Briggs 
who had gotten up and prepared supper. 
No second invitation was needed, once the 
odors of coffee and bacon were inhaled by the 
Overlanders. They sprang up rubbing the 
sleep from their eyes and started for the spring 
and a refreshing wash. 

Lemuel had built a fire, for the air was chill. 

“You have been very sweet to me, Elfreda 
dear,” breathed Arline, placing an arm about 
Miss Briggs. 

“All persons who breathe in harmony are 
sweet,” vouchsafed Emma. “Don’t you see 
what a difference it makes, Arline? Were it 
not that I breathe in harmony and that all 
things are beautiful to me, I should say that 
your hair is a fright,” added Emma amid 
laughter. 


198 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“I can’t help it, girls,” answered Arline, 
flashing. “Last night’s experiences put a per¬ 
manent wave in this head of hair of mine such 
as no beauty specialist ever dreamed of. It 
will last more than six months, too.” 

“Good for you, Arline!” shouted Nora. 
“Now you are a real human being.” 

“Look out!” It was Lemuel’s voice that 
uttered the warning. He came bounding in 
from the ponies where he had gone to see that 
they were properly saddled for the night jour¬ 
ney before them. “Ah seen er bunch of fellers 
foolin’ wid de hosses, an’— Dar dey come!” 

A group of horsemen rode boldly into camp, 
but, to the relief of the amazed Overlanders, 
there were no Mexicans among them. Lead¬ 
ing the party rode a stern-faced man who 
looked as though he might be a rancher, while 
just behind him there was a white man that the 
Overland Riders instantly recognized. It was 
Pat Proll, who once before had called on them 
in the assumed guise of a Texas Ranger, and 
whom Crazy Bill Belden had declared was only 
a cheap deputy sheriff and a crook. 

Cowpunchers in chaps, riding lean mustangs, 
backed up the two men and came to a halt just 
within the light of the campfire. The Overland 
Riders were on their feet at the instant they 
heard Lemuel’s warning shout, and those of 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 199 


them who had their revolvers handy, were 
ready to defend themselves, with the exception 
of Emma and Stacy who had quickly dodged 
out of sight. 

4 6 Well, sir? What is it?” demanded Tom 
Gray. “It is customary to hail before entering 
a camp. That is common courtesy in this part 
of the country.” 

“This ain’t no society call, Mister. This is 
business,” replied the leader sternly. “This is 
a posse. Thar was a raid on my ranch last 
night and we reckon there is somebody here 
who knows something about it. While you 
don’t look to{be the kind of critters we expected 
to find, I reckon we’ve got the goods on you. 
How I’ll give you a fair chance. What have 
you got to say for yourselves?” 

“About what?” countered Tom. “We are 
the Overland Riders, some of us with our wives 
taking our regular summer’s vacation in the 
saddle, and we do not care about being inter¬ 
fered with in this manner. What is it that you 
want to know?” 

“I’m Bill Jennings. Thar was a raid on my 
ranch last night and some stock stolen. I ask 
you what you got to say about that?” 

“Nothing! We have had our own troubles 
with raids, and further, I don’t like your 
insinuation. We know nothing about the raid 


200 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


on your ranch, and if that is all you have to 
say we want you to get out.” 

“Yes, move on,” spoke up Lieutenant Win¬ 
gate. “We know that man with you, and we 
won’t have him here. Proll, you get out of 
here or we will start something in a minute.” 

“Don’t git fresh, young fellow. This man is 
an officer of the law, and he’s here because I 
brought him here to do his duty. Pat!” 

Proll edged his horse up beside the rancher. 

“As Bill Jennings was saying, thar was a 
raid on his ranch last night and some stock was 
driv off. I reckon I don’t have to tell ye ’bout 
that, for one of the hosses stolen from Bill last 
night ye’ve got right here with ye; that roan 
mustang. We’ve got the goods on ye. Ye 
knows the answer,” threatened Proll savagely. 

Hippy laughed. 

“You poor fish! Is that all? I’ll tell you all 
about that roan and how we came by him.” 
That Lieutenant Wingate did, but without men¬ 
tioning that it was the Rangers that had rescued 
himself and Tom, and later on saved the girls 
of the Overland party from the guerrilla raid 
in Two-mile Pass. “Does that explain things 
to you, Mr. Proll?” he demanded. 

“Don’t explain nothin’. Yer goin’ with us. 
Yer under arrest, the whole bunch of ye. Now 
what do ye propose to do?” sneered the deputy. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 201 


“Do you really mean that we are under ar¬ 
rest ?” demanded Tom Gray. 

“I reckon ye’ve guessed it,” leered Proll. 

“You have asked what we propose to do,” 
spoke up Lieutenant Wingate. “I want to say 
to you, first, Mr. Jennings, that we have evi¬ 
dence that this man isn’t straight. You look to 
me like an honest man, hut I’ll say that you are 
in had company. We have done nothing wrong 
and we aren’t going with you. You can have 
your pony. We were going to turn him loose 
to-night anyway. Proll, where is your war¬ 
rant?” 

“This ’ere’s my warrant,” shouted the dep¬ 
uty, whipping out his revolver and leveling it 
at Lieutenant Wingate. 

“All right. If you want a fight, a fight it 
will be!” answered Hippy calmly, whereupon 
every man of the posse reached for his weapon. 

‘ 1 Stop it! ” It was Stacy Brown’s voice that 
uttered the command, but his person was hidden 
in the mesquite. “Keep your hands away from 
your guns or there’ll be some dead posseites. 
We’ve got automatic rifles trained on you, and 
the first man that makes a move to shoot is 
going to get drilled. Put up that gun, Proll, 
or you’ll get your dose in a hurry!” 


202 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER XXI 

ON" THE GUADALUPE TRAIL 

H IPPY WINGATE grinned broadly. 

“You started something that you 
can’t finish, didn’t you, Pat?” jeered 
Lieutenant Wingate. “Stacy, don’t get excited 
and don’t fire unless Mr. Proll loses his head 
and shoots first.” 

“We’re watchin’ ’em,” answered the fat boy. 
Stacy and Emma were peering over their rifles, 
narrowly observing the intruders. They had 
acted quickly upon the first alarm, and with 
amazing unexpectedness. 

“Pat, put that gun up. The fellow back of 
me with the rifle is excitable and might shoot 
out of nervousness. If you now want to take a 
pot shot at me, go ahead.” 

Uttering a growl deep and savage, Pat Proll 
shoved his weapon into its holster. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jennings, but we know what 
we are doing, and, as I have said, we know this 
man Proll. I don’t blame you, but to put your 
mind at rest concerning our party, I can con¬ 
vince you that Proll is wrong. Will you get 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 203 


down from your horse and step aside with me 
for a moment ?” invited Tom Gray. 

The rancher hesitated, then swung from his 
saddle. 

“All right, young fellow, but don’t try any 
tricks. I’ll keep close to you to see that you 
don’t.” 

“Grace, lend me your pocket light for a mo¬ 
ment,” requested Tom, without replying to the 
rancher’s threat. He then stepped around be¬ 
hind El Capitan Rock, halting far enough from 
Stacy and Emma so that they could not over¬ 
hear the conversation. “Mr. Jennings, I be¬ 
lieve you are a fair man, and one who will 
keep his word. I must ask you to keep to your¬ 
self the information that I am about to give 
you. Have I your word for it?” demanded 
Tom. 

After slight hesitation the rancher nodded 
his head. 

“Then read this,” directed Tom, thrusting a 
paper into the hands of the rancher, and direct¬ 
ing a ray from the flashlight upon it. 

As he slowly looked over the paper, Bill Jen¬ 
nings’ face became a study. That which he 
held in his hand was a commission from the 
Governor of the State, executed in blank and 
filled out by the Ranger Chief, appointing Cap¬ 
tain Tom Gray and Lieutenant Theophilus 


204 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Wingate deputy Rangers for the State of Texas 
for special border service. 

The rancher read the document a second 
time, then raised his eyes to the face of the 
Overland Rider. 

“You fool! Why didn’t you tell me first 
off?” was the rancher’s unexpected reply. “I 
might have shot you, and I came near doing it 
as it was.” 

“Who would have been the fool in that 
case?” smiled Tom. 

“Wal, I reckon I would have been it,” an¬ 
swered Jennings. “You have it on me, all 
right. Shake, Cap’n.” 

“Not a word that will give Proll a clue, 
remember,” warned Tom. “Tell him that you 
are convinced that we are all right. You 
know how to do it.” 

“Leave it to me. Who is the feller who 
wanted to shoot us up?” 

Tom told the rancher that it was one Stacy 
Brown backed by a girl of the outfit named 
Emma Dean. The two men walked out, and 
eager eyes scanned their faces. 

“Wal, I s’pose the critter has been fillin’ ye 
ful of lies,” sneered Proll, who, perhaps, 
saw more in Bill Jennings’ face than did the 
others. 

“Don’t use them harsh words unless you are 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 205 


ready to pass out, Pat Proll,” warned a voice 
from the mesquite. 

“It’s all right, Pat,” soothed the rancher. 
“ Captain Gray has convinced me that this 
outfit is all right. He is a friend of a good 
friend of mine, and I’m sorry we got in this 
thing, except that we have found one of my 
hosses.” 

“That’s jest it,” began Proll, then checked 
himself as he saw a rifle barrel poked through 
the bushes, its muzzle pointed at him. 

“I tell you it’s all right, Pat. Don’t bother 
these folks further. I’m saying it for your own 
good. Knowing them now, I know they’ll 
shoot. There ain’t no bluff in this outfit. 
Shake, Lieutenant,” he added, extending a 
hand to Hippy. Then removing his sombrero 
to the women of the party, Jennings swung 
into his saddle. “I reckon we’ll take the nag 
with us,” he said, nodding to Tom. 

“Lemuel, get that Mexican pony and turn 
him over to Mr. Jennings,” ordered Tom. 
“If you ever get near our outfit, Mr. Jennings, 
come in and have a snack with us. Good-bye.” 

The Overlanders waited, listening until they 
heard their callers ride away. Lemuel came 
back grinning broadly, as Emma and Stacy 
emerged from the bush, Stacy looking very im¬ 
portant. 


206 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Well, I reckon there’s no doubt about who 
saved this outfit to-night,” observed the fat 
boy. “Of course Emma was there, but she 
was so busy breathing in harmony that she 
didn’t have time to say a word.” 

“You’re both wonderful!” cried Nora, 
throwing impulsive arms about Emma and hug¬ 
ging her delightedly, but when Nora started to 
embrace Stacy he hastily put the campfire be¬ 
tween her and himself. 

The Overlanders congratulated Stacy and 
Emma in no uncertain words. 

“The question is,” said Hippy, “what argu¬ 
ment did Tom pull on Bill Jennings? It must 
have been a powerful one to soothe that old 
hardshell. ’ ’ 

“Tom showed him how to breathe in har¬ 
mony, ’ ’ suggested Emma demurely. ‘ ‘ Why not 
teach Stacy, too? He needs it.” 

Tom shook his head at Hippy, and the lat¬ 
ter, understanding, questioned him no further, 
though the others plied Tom with questions, 
realizing that there was something mysterious 
in the sudden change of attitude of Bill Jen¬ 
nings. They got no information from Tom, 
however. 

During the rest of the evening the Over¬ 
landers sat about the fire waiting for the hour 
when they were to receive the three-flash signal 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 207 


from the south, Lemuel being out somewhere at 
his self-appointed task of guarding the camp 
from surprise. 

Shortly before ten o’clock the party with one 
accord walked out and fixed their eyes on the 
mountain peak that had been indicated by the 
Ranger. Ten o’clock came and passed, hut no 
signal appeared, and when half after ten was 
announced, Tom said they might as well make 
up their minds to spend the night at El Capi- 
tan Rock. 

“No! There she blows!” cried Stacy. 

Three tiny specks of light showed and died 
away, showed again and disappeared. Tom 
raised Grace’s pocket lamp which he still had 
in his pocket and returned the signal, where¬ 
upon the lamp on the mountaintop winked 
twice and was seen no more. 

“Break camp! All hands turn out!” cried 
Hippy. 

“ Alors! Let’s go,” agreed Elfreda Briggs 
and the Overlanders went merrily about their 
task of striking camp and preparing for an all- 
night ride. They were under way within half 
an hour. In the meantime Tom had studied his 
government map and laid out his course for 
a point in the Guadalupes, which would even¬ 
tually take them to the vicinity that the Ranger 
Chief had suggested as worth investigating. 


208 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Lemuel knew nothing at all about the country, 
but, as Hippy expressed it, he was 4 ‘just the 
sort of cheerful idiot we need.” Every mem¬ 
ber of the party liked him for his faithfulness 
and alertness. 

Having had a good day’s rest the girls stood 
the ride well. Only once that night did they 
halt, and then just long enough to give tho 
horses a breathing spell and to brew a cup of 
tea for themselves. Late in the night the 
ponies began to ascend a sharp rise of ground, 
which Tom said was the beginning of the foot¬ 
hills. He informed his companions that they 
must keep on and get as far into the mountains 
as possible before daylight. 

The day dawned full of the fragrant air of 
these southern mountains, and, from the point 
where they halted for breakfast, they had an 
uninterrupted view into New Mexico. There 
they rested for three hours, and then resumed 
their journey. 

‘‘Why the haste?” questioned Miss Briggs, 
regarding Tom narrowly. “It seems to me 
that you are in greater haste than the occasion 
calls for. Are you keeping something from us ? 
Grace, I believe these men have a secret. They 
look guilty.” 

“Tom does, I will admit,” replied Grace 
laughingly. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 209 


“To a certain extent I am,” admitted Tom. 
“Conditions make it necessary for this outfit to 
be unusually vigilant, to watch out especially 
for Mexicans. We can’t afford to take chances. 
Look sharp for fresh trails, for horses and for 
men. Lemuel, here’s a chance for you to use 
those big eyes of yours.” 

“Yessah. Ah gwine do dat, Cap’n. Ah seen 
one to-day.” 

“You did!” chorused the Overlanders. 

“Yessah. It war a bear trail, Cap’n, an’—” 
The rest of his reply was lost in a gale of 
laughter. 

“I told you they are up to something,” whis¬ 
pered Elfreda when Grace rode over to her. 

Grace nodded. 

Later on they made camp in a secluded spot 
and passed an uninterrupted night, the first 
that they had enjoyed in some days. On the 
following morning Tom and Hippy announced 
that they were going out to prospect, Tom de¬ 
claring that his government survey thus far 
had been no survey at all. Equipped with 
rifles and revolvers the two Overlanders pre¬ 
sented quite a warlike appearance as they 
strode out of camp, followed by the appraising 
gaze of at least two members of their outfit. 

The men were gone all day, returning just 
before dark after covering considerable terri- 

14 - Grace Harlowe and Border Guerrillas 


210 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


tory. On the following morning the Overland¬ 
ers broke camp, and then began a tortuous 
journey, the party working back and forth at 
right angles to the Range, so that practically 
all of the mountain country left behind them 
had been covered before nightfall. The girls 
were puzzled, and Hippy and Tom came in for 
much good-natured teasing. Not a thing had 
the two men seen to indicate that there were 
other human beings in the Guadalupe Range. 

For ten uninterrupted happy days following, 
the Overland Riders moved forward every 
other day, and each day Tom and Hippy cov¬ 
ered the Range to the right and left as Tom 
proceeded with his government survey, now 
and then taking Lemuel with them to assist in 
looking for trails and drive stakes, with which 
to identify certain sections that Tom had laid 
out on his map. In that time they had not 
made much forward progress, but as Emma ex¬ 
pressed it, they had “covered a lot of terri¬ 
tory sideways.’’ On the eleventh day they 
made a long drive and pitched camp in the 
wildest part of the mountains that they had 
so far encountered. High peaks, rugged, im¬ 
pressive, towered all about them, and the mesas 
were more heavily timbered than they had thus 
far experienced. 

“Rough going up here. I think we will 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 211 


make permanent camp for a few days and do 
some real work,” announced Tom as they sat 
down to supper that night. “The girls can 
picnic while we are surveying, Hippy . 9 9 

“If I read the signs aright the picnic prom¬ 
ises to wind up in a row,” observed Miss 
Briggs shrewdly. 

Survey work was taken up in a business-like 
manner next morning, while Lemuel was given 
free rein to roam where he would and keep a 
vigilant lookout for strangers, so he prowled 
about some distance ahead of Tom and Hippy, 
examining bear tracks, now and then dispatch¬ 
ing a snake with the club that now was ever in 
his hand, occasionally pausing to listen, rolling 
his eyes upward until only the whites showed, 
as he thought he heard sounds not belonging 
to the mountains. 

With tireless activity Lemuel kept up his 
quest until the day grew late. He discovered 
something all at once as he was about to turn 
back to camp. Uttering an exclamation he 
dropped to hands and knees and peered eagerly 
at the ground. After a moment he sprang to 
his feet and ran zigzagging along, well stooped 
forward like a hound with its nose to a trail. 

“Ah reckons Ah has gone fur ’nough,” he 
finally decided, bringing up abruptly, puzzled 
as to what he ought to do. “Ah knows what 


212 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Ah’ll do. Ah’ll go fer de Cap’n. Ah reckons 
Ah has made a ’scovery dis time.” 

Lemuel St. Petersburg Johnson had made a 
discovery that was destined to have a tremen¬ 
dous influence on the fortunes of the Overland 
Riders in the Guadalupe Range. 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 213 


CHAPTER XXII 

LEMUEL MAKES A FIND 

iC A H ’S made a ’scovery, Cap ’n!” cried the 

r\ little guide after finding Tom nearly 
a mile to the rear. “Whar is de lieu¬ 
tenant ?” 

‘ ‘ I am waiting for him now. What have you 
discovered ?’ 7 demanded Tom smilingly, amused 
at the boy’s excited manner, and not placing 
much confidence in LemuePs enthusiasm. 

“Ah ’scovered a trail, Ah did.” 

“What kind of trail—another bear?” 

“No, Cap’n. Come, All’ll show you-all.” 

“Here, Hippy. Lem has found something, 
but we’ll have to hurry, as it is getting late,” 
called Tom as Lieutenant Wingate topped a 
rise a short distance from them and stalked to¬ 
wards the pair. “He says he has found a 
trail.” 

Lemuel was off at a trot, and the Overland 
men followed him, forced to move fast to keep 
up with the boy. Both were breathless when 
finally they reached the spot where Lemuel had 
made his discovery. 


214 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Dar dey is,” announced Lemuel, pointing 
to the ground. 

“Well, old chappie, what is it?” chuckled 
Hippy. 

“Mule tracks, sah. Ah found ’em, Ah did.” 

“What?” Tom was down on his knees in 
a second, intently examining the trail that the 
boy’s keen eyes had discovered. “Yes, it is a 
trail, but an old one. You did well, Lemuel, 
but you have picked out something fully a 
month old.” 

“No, sah. I reckons dat ain’t it. It done 
rain on dem tracks, Cap’n. Three mule done 
gwine ovah dis heah trail, an’ dey hain’t come 
back nuther.” 

“The boy may be right at that. These ani¬ 
mals were carrying quite a load, too, I should 
say,” observed Hippy. “Suppose we follow 
the trail a little further and see what it leads 
to.” 

“Which way?” asked Tom. 

“The way they were headed, of course 
—into the mountains. It may not amount to 
anything, but as an Intelligence Officer in the 
war once said to me, ‘never overlook trifles. 
The big answer to your problems may be found 
in the most trivial circumstances, and it usu¬ 
ally is.’ I’m for following the trail. How about 
it?” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 215 


“Home!” answered Captain Gray. “I am 
too weary to follow any trail except the one 
that leads to food and warm blankets.” 

“You’ve got my complaint, haven’t yon?” 
chuckled Hippy. “All right. To-morrow 
morning St. Petersburg Johnson and I will 
come out and see where this trail leads to, and 
you may go on with your survey. I’m no good 
at surveying anyway.” 

The three started back to camp, Lemuel a 
little crestfallen that his discovery had not 
been received with more enthusiasm, but the 
more Lieutenant Wingate thought it over, the 
more interested did he become. He could think 
of no reason why heavily laden mules should 
be laboring through the most inaccessible part 
of the Guadalupes when there were other trails 
so much easier. 

“Lemuel,” he called while they were dis¬ 
cussing the find over their supper that night. 
“I didn’t see any pony tracks out yonder. Did 
you?” 

“No, sah. Wan’t no other animules. De 
men what driv de mules was walkin’ ’long side 
ob dem. Ah seen de tracks, too.” 

“Good for you, Lemuel,” smiled Grace. 
“You are a most observing young man.” 

“That is because he breathes in harmony,” 
remarked Emma sweetly. 


216 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“ Don’t! ” begged Arline. ‘ ‘ Really, Emma, I 
shall scream if you don’t stop torturing me.” 

“I’m sorry, dear,” apologized Miss Dean. 
“My own soul is so full of that imponderable 
quantity called ‘harmony’ that I am prone to 
forget that those about me may not be simi¬ 
larly blessed. Now take Lemuel for illustra¬ 
tion. I ask you, is there not perfect harmony 
in the way he rolls his eyes and shows his beau¬ 
tiful teeth? Are not teeth and eyebrows, as 
well as the soul, at one with the universe?” 

The Overlanders, with one exception, laughed 
heartily. That exception was Arline, who 
looked appealingly at Grace Harlowe. 

“Emma, dear, do you think you are quite 
fair?” questioned Grace, trying to look severe. 

Miss Dean regarded her thoughtfully. 

“I think you may find the answer to that 
question in your own soul, Grace Harlowe,” 
replied the little Overland woman. Grace 
flushed, then laughed with the others. “St. 
Petersburg Johnson, I leave it to you, am I not 
right?” 

“Ah reckons you-all be right if you-all ain’t 
wrong, Missie,” he answered, whereat there 
was another laugh, this time on Emma Dean 
herself. 

The girls announced that they, too, were 
going out to look at Lemuel’s wonderful find, 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 217 


but Hippy decided that it were best that they 
remain in camp, and Tom Gray agreed with 
him. 

Early on the following morning the two 
Overlanders with Lemuel once more set out. 
When some distance from camp Tom was left 
to resume his own work while Lieutenant Win¬ 
gate and the colored boy hastened on to pick up 
the mule trail where they had left it the night 
before. The instant the boy reached the trail 
he uttered an exclamation. 

‘ 1 Look dar, Cap hi! See? I told you-all. De 
mules done come back!” he cried. 

“As sure as you’re a foot high, Snowball. 
This is too bad. Had we taken your advice we 
might have discovered something.” 

“Ain’t de same mules dis time. Sure ain’t,” 
declared Lem after a more careful scrutiny of 
the new trail. Whar dem other mules gwine, 
Ah ask dat?” demanded the boy, referring to 
the animals whose trails he had found the 
previous afternoon. 

“You may search me,” replied Hippy, re¬ 
moving his hat and running his fingers through 
his hair. “Perhaps they have gone right on 
across the mountains and on to the border.” 

St. Petersburg shook his head and started 
along the two trails, followed by Lieutenant 
Wingate. Tne chase had led them about a 


218 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


mile when the boy halted. They were sur¬ 
rounded by rocks, mesquite and a veritable 
jungle of mountain growths. There were evi¬ 
dences that the mules had stopped there, and 
the colored boy pointed to a spot where the 
bushes had been laid flat. 

“Dat whar de mules had er roll,” he in¬ 
formed Hippy. “Ah gwine find out whar dey- 
all gwine from heah, Cap’n.” 

Hippy told him to go ahead, saying that he 
would remain there and look about. Lemuel 
called to him a few moments later and pointed 
out two trails, that is, the trails of two dis¬ 
tinct mule parties, one old, the other fresh. 
Lemuel said the fresh trail was the one they 
had discovered that morning, made by the 
same mules. It led to the eastward, away from 
the border, as did the older trail. Both had 
gone back east, but by different routes. 

“Hm-m-m!” mused Lieutenant Wingate. 
“Both mule parties came to this point with 
heavy loads, remained here for a time, then 
returned without their loads. That is the way 
I dope it out.” 

“Dat right, Cap’n. Had er load when dey 
come, didn’t have no load when dey went away. 
What dat mean?” 

“Lemuel! It means that you and I had bet¬ 
ter look out a little bit or we may get shot 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 219 


up any minute,’’ answered Hippy solemnly, 
whereat Lemuel rolled his eyes apprehensively. 
4 ‘You follow the trail out a piece. I want to 
try to figure this thing out by myself.” 

“They came loaded and they went away 
light,” mused Hippy. “What does that mean? 
Only one thing—they left their loads here.” 
The Overlander thereupon began a systematic 
search for further clues, covering quite a wide 
area, finally returning to his former position 
and scanning the ground closely. “It was 
right at this spot that the animals were un¬ 
loaded,” he decided. 

More than an hour had been occupied in 
his quest, and he was on the point of giving 
it up when Lemuel returned. The boy said 
that the mules had gone to the eastward on 
their way out of the mountains, and that he had 
found other similar trails that led both ways, 
showing that there had been considerable mule 
traffic into the Guadalupes. 

“Where did you get that piece of board?” 
demanded Lieutenant Wingate, referring to a 
new strip of pine that Lemuel had in his hand. 

The boy said he had picked it up just be¬ 
yond where they were standing. Hippy took 
the stick from him and examined it, a piece of 
board about four inches wide by two feet long. 
On it were printed the words, “U. M. C. C.” 


220 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


The Overland Rider uttered an exclamation. 

“ ‘ Union Metallic Cartridge Company!’ Boy, 
you have made a find. Show me where you 
got it. This piece of board was part of a box 
of cartridges. This means something!” cried 
Lieutenant Wingate excitedly. 

The spot where the piece had been found 
was covered with a thick growth of mesquite, 
into which the stick evidently had been thrown 
to put it out of sight. 

“I wonder if this is what the Ranger Chief 
suspected. Lemuel, I wish you would go back 
to camp and fetch Captain Gray here. I don’t 
believe you can find him in the mountains. 
Anyhow, he said he should be in camp about 
noon. I’ll be about here somewhere, but when 
you return come cautiously and ask the captain 
to do the same.” 

“Yes, sah. Ah’ll do dat. Ah reckon you-all 
better take care of yo’self,” added the little 
guide, his quaint good wishes and warning 
bringing a smile to the face of the Overland 
Rider. 

It was mid-afternoon when Lemuel returned 
with Tom Gray. During the period of the 
guide’s absence Lieutenant Wingate had con¬ 
tinued his quest, going over the ground many 
times and covering quite a large area, but, 
though there were evidences of recent visita- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 221 


tion, among them some mustang tracks, he 
found no clue to that for which he was now 
searching—the loads that pack mules had 
brought into the mountains. 

Tom and Lemuel came in cautiously, hut 
Hippy heard them and appeared before them 
so suddenly that Tom’s revolver was out of 
its holster before he realized who it was. 

Hippy quickly acquainted his companion 
with the situation. 

44 Something is going on here, sure as you’re 
a foot high, ’ ’ declared Lieutenant Wingate, ex¬ 
hibiting the part of the cover of the arms com¬ 
pany box found by Lemuel. 

4 4 The Rangers must have good reason for 
asking us to come here,” nodded Captain 
Gray. 44 I think they should be notified.” 

4 4 We have nothing definite, only suspicions 
to offer them now, Tom. I am going to stay 
out here to-night and watch. If nothing oc¬ 
curs I’ll keep on staying here. Have Lemuel 
fetch me food. Keep down the fires in camp. 
To be discovered now would ruin what few 
prospects we have, for giving some real help 
to the Rangers. Tom, I’m of the opinion that 
the Ranger bunch have been our good angels 
ever since we have been out here.” 

44 Yes. I think so, too. However, don’t you 
think I had better stay with you?” 


222 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


6 ‘One of us must remain with the girls,’’ 
answered Hippy briefly. 

Tom agreed, and for the next hour the two 
men searched for further clues, Lemuel being 
ordered to see to it that they were not sur¬ 
prised. Discovery now would ruin their plans. 

Tom and Lemuel left Lieutenant Wingate 
shortly before dark, whereupon Hippy, after 
selecting a spot for his night’s vigil, went back 
a short distance to wait for the colored boy’s 
return with food. Lemuel got back about nine 
o’clock that evening, fetching Hippy’s rifle 
with instructions from Tom Gray to fire a sig¬ 
nal in the event of' his getting' into trouble. 
Supper was eaten cold, some food being saved 
for later use after the Overlander had shared 
the supply with Lemuel. 

“St. Petersburg, you are the whitest little 
black man that I’ve ever come up with. You 
aren’t much of a guide, but when it comes to 
nosing out a trail you’re a regular little houn’ 
dog. What I wish you to do to-night is to 
scout about and bring word to me in case you 
hear anything. You will find me in the bushes 
near the spot where you found the piece of 
board. I’ll show you before I go to bed. I 
want to be close to that spot in case we have 
visitors. Understand V 9 
“Ah suah does, Cap’n.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 223 


c ‘Good! Be careful that you don’t get your 
curly head shot off. Come with me now.” 
Hippy showed the boy the exact spot where 
he might he found, then sent Lemuel out for 
his night’s work, following which the Overland 
Rider sat down for his own vigil. The night 
was dark, but he could dimly make out objects 
near at hand, including that open rocky spot 
where he believed that pack-mules had been 
unloaded. It was hard work, cold work, sit¬ 
ting there, and before midnight Hippy had 
eaten up the last of the food. Not a sound 
had come from Lemuel since that youngster 
stole away in the darkness. 

It was a few minutes after two o ’clock in the 
morning when Hippy heard someone stealth¬ 
ily approaching. He waited, weapon in hand, 
then he heard a muttered exclamation which 
he instantly recognized. 

“Lemuel! Be careful,” warned Hippy. 
“What is it?” 

“Cap’n, dey’s cornin’! Ah seen ’em. Whar 
you-all go?” demanded the colored boy in a 
voice, low, but full of excitement. 

“Lie down close by me. Don’t speak unless 
I tell you to. Don’t move or make a sound! 
I hear them now. Silence!” whispered the 
Overland Rider. 


224 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


CHAPTER XXIII 

“the guerrillas are coming l” 

L IEUTENANT WINGATE bent bis every 
faculty to determining whence the 
sounds came and what they meant. 
They did not seem to him like the footfalls of 
unshod mules, which should make little or no 
sound at all unless treading on rock, in which 
event the sound could not be heard many yards 
away. 

“Look there!” he whispered as two horse¬ 
men on mustangs rode into the range of their 
vision just at the edge of the open space that 
he had been watching. Who and what they 
were the Overlander was unable to determine 
in the darkness. What he did know was that 
they had not come from the direction indicated 
by Lemuel. 

“Are those/ the ones you saw?” he ques¬ 
tioned. “Answer in a whisper.” 

“No. Dese ain’t dose,” was the comprehen¬ 
sive reply. 

The two horsemen sat their saddles for 
several moments listening. Hippy saw them 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 225 


unlimber their rifles and hold them with muz¬ 
zles pointed downward, and he knew that there 
was a finger on each trigger. A moment more 
and he heard a quick exclamation from one of 
the riders, answered instantly by the other, 
both of whom had heard the soft pad of hoofs 
in the mesquite. One of the pair signalled with 
a low whistle, which was answered from the 
mesquite. He then called out and received an 
answer, neither of which Hippy understood. 

“Mexicans! Probably our friends the guer¬ 
rillas, ” he whispered. 

A train of five mules at this juncture ap¬ 
peared in the clearing and lined up not many 
yards from where Hippy and the colored boy 
lay watching and listening. 

Accompanying the mule drivers were three 
other men, and these, at an order from one of 
the two horsemen who still sat their saddles, 
strode out into the bushes, one passing close to 
the Overlanders and halting about twenty feet 
behind them. The three men were sentries 
posted to guard against a surprise. 

The unloading was begun at once, and, 
though the packs were wrapped in canvas and 
were not large, it took two men to lift each one 
down. One that Lieutenant Wingate got a 
glimpse of had no canvas about it, and the 
shape of it looked familiar to him. 

15 - Grace Harlowe and Border GuerriUas 


226 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


The party kept up a running fire of chatter 
while the unloading was going on, not a word 
of which was intelligible to Hippy, though 
Lemuel understood some of it. Of course, in 
the circumstances, he dared not repeat it nor 
even utter a whisper. Though Hippy could 
neither understand nor see, he heard a slight 
grating noise, which he did not recognize, but 
'which sounded as if someone were scraping a 
stone or metal over a rock. The Overland 
Rider was puzzled. If he could only see. That 
sound interested him, and, properly inter¬ 
preted, he believed would be the answer to the 
question in his mind—what were the men do¬ 
ing? 

Nearly an hour was consumed in the mys¬ 
terious operations, and during that time not a 
light was shown. This meant that the men 
were familiar with their surroundings, and 
also that they did not wish to run the risk of 
revealing their presence by showing a light. 

At last the men appeared to have finished 
their task, which was followed by the same 
grating, scratching sound that Lieutenant Win¬ 
gate had heard before. A bombardment of 
words from one of the two horsemen resulted 
in the immediate departure of the mule driv¬ 
ers. For some little time after that the two 
horsemen conversed in low tones, then turned 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 227 


and rode away. Lemuel stirred ever so little. 
Hippy placed a firm grip on his arm and whis¬ 
pered in the hoy’s ear. 

“Has that fellow hack of us gone?” 

“Ah doan’ know. Ain’t heard nuffin\” 

“Then lie still,” warned Hippy. 

From then on for all of half an hour the man 
and the boy barely moved a muscle, at the same 
time keeping their breathing suppressed. They 
were finally startled by hearing a movement 
behind them. Some one was stirring there, 
and a moment later a man stumbled over Lem¬ 
uel’s foot, nearly tripping himself, but re¬ 
covered his balance and stepped out into the 
open space. He plainly did not know what he 
had fallen over, and to Lemuel’s credit he 
neither uttered a sound nor stirred. Both 
were thankful that the fellow had revealed him¬ 
self. They were thankful, too, that they had 
been prudent enough to hold their position 
after the departure of the two horsemen. 

The guard of three sentries had been left be¬ 
hind, undoubtedly for the purpose of watching 
to see if their operations had been spied upon. 
A low whistle from the man who had stumbled 
over Lemuel’s foot brought his two compan¬ 
ions to him, whereupon the three sat down and 
talked in tones too low for the eavesdroppers 
to distinguish the words. 


228 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Did he touch you?” whispered Hippy. 

“He fell ovah mah foot, sah.” 

“Whew!” muttered Hippy. 

The hours from then on dragged slowly. 
It seemed as though the men out there at the 
edge of the open space would never go away, 
nor did they until night had nearly passed. 
At the first sign of approaching day the three 
sentries got up, looked about them, then shoul¬ 
dering their rifles stalked away chattering. 

“Follow them a little way, Lemuel, and make 
certain that they have really gone,” directed 
Hippy. “Be careful that you aren’t discov¬ 
ered. I’ll wait for you here.” 

Lemuel did his duty thoroughly, and, while 
absent, found a handful of berries that an¬ 
swered for his breakfast. Hippy, in the mean¬ 
time, had resumed his investigations, but the 
clearing appeared to be in the same condition 
as he had last seen it. He was more puzzled 
than ever, and concluded that as a Ranger he 
had proved himself a dismal failure. 

“Dey’s all gone,” announced St. Petersburg, 
as he came trotting back. “Ah reckons dey’s 
gone fer breakfast. Whar you-all go now?” 

“Right here. Lemuel, those men unloaded a 
lot of stuff on this very spot last night. You 
saw them do it; I saw them do it. Now what 
did they do with it?” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 229 


“Ah doan’ know, Cap’n. Ah reckons dey 
put it in de ground jest where you-all stand.’’ 

“I give it up. I’m going back to camp and 
fetch some one who has keener eyes than we 
have,” decided Lieutenant Wingate helplessly. 
“Besides, I’m hungry. Come on, Snowball.” 

“It is fortunate for you, young man, that we 
are on a peaceable mission,” interrupted a 
laughing voice. “You are a careless person, 
I must say.” 

It was Elfreda Briggs, who, with Tom Gray, 
had come out to see what had become of Hippy 
and Lemuel. They had approached the scene 
cautiously, not knowing what they might find 
there, but neither Hippy nor the colored boy 
had heard their approach. 

“Got anything to eat?” demanded Hippy, 
brightening at sight of them. 

“A kit bag full of it, Theophilus,” answered 
Elfreda laughingly. “Eat it and tell us the 
news.” 

“I’ll tell you first, hungry as I am, which is 
a great sacrifice indeed. First of all, I’ll say 
that this little black-faced boy is a find. Listen 
to the tale I am about to unfold.” 

Lieutenant Wingate thereupon told the story 
of what they had discovered, Tom and El¬ 
freda sitting beside him on a flat slab of rock, 
listening attentively while Hippy talked and 


230 


GEACE HAELOWE 


ate. Lemuel sat watching them, rolling his 
eyes as he munched the sandwiches that Miss 
.Briggs had handed to him. 

“We saw them unload their stuff right out 
here in the open, hut it must have dissolved 
into thin air, for not a trace of it was left after 
they went away empty handed,” finished 
Hippy. 

“You heard a scraping sound, you said!” 
questioned Miss Briggs, gazing critically at the 
slab of rock on which they were sitting. 

“Yes.” 

“And you didn’t make anything out of that, 
eh!” 

“How could I when I couldn’t see!” pro¬ 
tested Hippy irritably. 

“Has it not occurred to you, Mr. Theophilus 
Wingate, that perhaps you are at this moment 
sitting on the evidence!” asked J. Elfreda 
sweetly. 

“Sitting on—on the what!” 

“Have a look at this stone and see if it 
doesn’t give you just a wee little hint!” 

Lieutenant Wingate was up with a bound, 
the others rising also to their feet. 

“What I wish to call your attention to is 
the fact that this slab of rock may have been 
moved. There are scratches on the rocks on 
either side of it which may have been made in 



“Boys, You Have Made a Find! ” 
231 

















232 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


the process of moving the slab/’ suggested 
J. Elfreda. 

i ‘ Lemuel!’ 9 shouted Hippy. ‘ ‘ Fetch me a big 
long stick, something strong. Elfreda, I be¬ 
lieve yon are right. See! There is a slight 
opening on one side of the stone. I wish I had 
a crowbar or a handspike. Is that all yon can 
find?” he demanded as the colored boy offered 
his clnb. ‘ ‘ Tom, yon pnsh while I nse the clnb. 
Give me a stone for a fulcrnm.” 

Under the efforts of Hippy and Tom the 
stone slab was moved a few inches. Elfreda 
was down on her knees peering into the slight 
opening they had made. She brought ont her 
pocket light and directed a ray into the open¬ 
ing. 

“Boys, yon have made a find! I see boxes 
down there,” she cried. “Keep on until yon 
make a larger opening.” 

The stone, seemingly finding a balance, now 
slid easily from the opening, revealing a crevice 
in the rocks several yards in extent. Hippy 
was down in the hole in an instant examining 
the many boxes and packages piled there. He 
finally emerged perspiring and excited. 

“What is it?” wondered Tom, who already 
had partly formed a theory of his own. 

“Arms and ammunition, if one can judge 
from the packages,” answered Lieutenant Win- 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 233 


gate. “Help me close the hole before we are 
interrupted. I reckon the Rangers will be glad 
to know about this. This means something 
bigger than we now realize, though I do make a 
guess.” 

“We are a long way from the Rangers,” re¬ 
minded Tom. “How are we to get word to 
them?” 

“Someone must go back and notify them, 
though I don’t know where they may be found. 
I have a suspicion that you two do know,” 
declared Miss Briggs shrewdly. 

“One of us must make the ride,” said Tom. 
“When night comes we can use our flashlights 
for signals, on the possible chance that some 
Ranger may pick up our signal. Do you think 
Lemuel could be depended upon to make the 
ride?” 

“Just the man for the job,” cried Hippy. 
“Furthermore, we don’t know how to handle 
this affair, and can’t afford to mix up in it. 
Were it not that we have the girls with us we 
might see it through to a finish.” 

Tom suggested that they return to their 
camp at once, which they did after assuring 
themselves that they had left the cache under 
the slab just as they had found it. On the way 
campwards they discussed the situation and 
asked Lemuel if he would be afraid to make a 


234 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


long ride alone. Tom explained where they 
wished him to go and why, being quite frank 
about it. Lemuel listened attentively, showing 
the whites of his eyes as he rolled them up to 
the Overlander’s face. 

“Ah knows whar ter go, sah, an’ Ah 
knows what ter do, an’ Ah done gwine do it,” 
was the way Lemuel agreed to their proposal. 

“May I ask how you expect to get in touch 
with Rangers with a pocket flashlight, let alone 
telling them what you want of them?” de¬ 
manded Miss Briggs. 

“We have arranged with them to make the 
same signals as we made before. It is under¬ 
stood that, if we give a three-flash signal, it will 
mean that we need assistance,” explained 
Hippy. 

“But, my dear Theophilus—” 

“Don’t call me that. I know what you are go¬ 
ing to ask. I will answer it by saying that the 
Rangers have men out watching for signals 
from their force scattered throughout the 
Guadalupes and on the job in other ranges in 
this country. They may pick up our signals; 
then again they may not.” 

Miss Briggs nodded and smiled. She was be¬ 
ginning to understand that the two Overland 
men had a secret understanding with the 
Rangers. 



THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 235 


Reaching camp, the situation was quickly 
explained to Grace and her companions, and 
preparations were at once begun for Lemuel’s 
journey. Lieutenant Wingate wrote a note 
which Lemuel was to leave at the post that had 
been agreed upon with the Rangers. The boy, 
in the meantime, was saddling his mule for the 
journey. He declined to use a pony, saying 
that his mule could make better time and that 
he knew how to ride a mule. 

Lemuel set out on his mule shortly after 
his return to camp, armed with his club and the 
remnants of his top hat, which he had braced 
with sticks on the inside. The Overlanders 
stuck close to camp all that day, for all felt 
that it would be imprudent to separate. Emma 
was of the opinion that somebody was going to 
forget to breathe in harmony before the day 
was done, but despite her prophecy the day 
passed without incident. As soon as darkness 
settled over the mountains, Tom climbed a 
nearby elevation and began sending flash sig¬ 
nals, following each signal with a long, sweep¬ 
ing, searching gaze with the binoculars. 

It was late in the evening when a thin point 
of light flickered far to the rear of the camp. 
Three times he saw it, but the light was of a 
reddish tinge that told his experienced eye 
that the signal was being made with a signal 


236 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


fire and a blanket. Tom repeated bis own 
signal to make certain, and tbe distant signal 
answered him. 

“I got them,” was Captain Gray’s brief 
announcement as he stepped into camp. “It 
will probably be to-morrow before they 
reach—” 

“Senoritas!” A voice from the mesquite 
startled the Overland Riders. “Senoritas!” 

“ Juana!” cried the Overlanders, as the little 
Mexican girl dashed breathlessly into camp, 
their amazement for the moment being too great 
for words. 

“The guerrillas are coming! You must go. 
They will kill. They know! You have seen too 
much! Hurry, hurry! ’ ’ 



THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 237 


CHAPTER XXIV 

JUANA LEADS THE WAY 

“^IHE is the one! She is the girl who 
dragged me out of camp that nightl” 
cried Arline. 

Elfreda fixed a firm grip on the Mexican 
girPs arm and led her into the full light of the 
campfire. 

i Ms this another trick ?” demanded Miss 
Briggs sternly. 

“No, no! I swear it, Senorita. When I 
came to your camp before I was a spy. I con¬ 
fess it. Hernandez made me come to spy on 
you, and that night as I started to escape, I 1 
heard the shot and I thought the guerrillas had 
come. I grabbed that senorita and ran. The 
guerrillas were there, and they caught us both 
—there were two of them. I have come to warn 
you now, not to spy on you. I swear it, se- 
noritas.” 

“Why do you come to warn us? Warn us 
of what?” demanded Grace. 

“You have seen what you should not have 
seen. It was reported to Hernandez—” 


238 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


“Eh? Who is he?” interrupted Tom Gray. 

“He is the captain of all the guerrillas. He 
is my uncle, but I hate him!” The girPs dark 
Spanish eyes blazed in a way that could not be 
misunderstood. “He has sent for his men, 
many of them. He told me to come here and to 
lead you to a place where you might be easily 
attacked. I said I would not. Then he struck 
me, struck me with his sharp pointed spur. See! 
The marks of it and the blood are still on my 
cheek. I went hot, then I went cold all over. 
I said I would do it, that I would go to you, 
and I have come. I have come not to lead the 
senoritas into an ambush, but to save the 
senoritas.” 

“How are we to know that you will not 
lead us into a trap?” questioned Emma. 

“I think the girl is telling the truth,” 
spoke up Elfreda, who had been regarding her 
keenly. “Where will you take us?” 

“To the Apache peaks. It is wild there.” 

“Look here, girl!” spoke up Stacy Brown. 
“I don’t want to be fodder for border ruf¬ 
fians’ guns. Will they follow us?” 

“They will follow, Senor, and they will find 
you unless the Rangers stop them. Here you 
cannot defend yourselves, but there, you can 
do better—you can hide and shoot while they 
are climbing the mountain to reach you.” 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 239 


The Overlanders exchanged quick glances at 
the mention of the Rangers, but no one in¬ 
formed the girl that the Rangers already had 
been sent for. 

“One more question, Juana / 9 begged El- 
freda. “Will not the guerrillas remove the 
stuff they have brought into the mountains— 
will they not do this while we are fleeing ?” 

Juana shook her head. 

“No. They will follow the senoritas.” 

The Overlanders instantly saw her plan, 
but were not fully decided as to the wisdom 
of placing themselves in the hands of the 
little Mexican girl. 

“Senor,” she cried, turning to Lieutenant 
Wingate. “Should Hernandez come you will 
not let him have me, will you?” 

“Why, of course not,” answered Hippy, as 
the- burning eyes of the girl were fixed on him. 

“The senor is my husband,” interjected 
Nora, who did not like the turn affairs were 
taking. “He will keep his promise, Miss.” 

“Then—then, when Hernandez comes you 
will kill him for Juana, will you not, Senor?” 
she pleaded. 

“Oh, you little savage! You should not 
say such terrible things. You should breathe 
in harmony,” rebuked Emma Dean. 

“We will cross that bridge when we come 


240 


GEACE HAELOWE AND 


to it,” replied Lieutenant Wingate severely. 
“What shall we do? If we are going to let 
this girl lead us, the sooner we get started the 
better, according to the way you look at it. 
You agree to take us to a safe place, under¬ 
standing full well what will happen «to you if 
we find that you have deceived us?” he de¬ 
manded sternly. 

“Senor! I swear it by the saints. I will 
lead you where .Hernandez cannot get you— 
to the Apache peaks, and there you shall kill 
him for me. I—” 

A revolver crashed close at hand. Juana 
spun halfway around and plunged forward on 
her face. ,For a few seconds the Overland 
Eiders were too astonished to act. Tom was 
the first to recover his senses. 

“Down! Crawl away from here. Lively!” 
he commanded. 

Three more shots rang out in quick succes¬ 
sion, but the bullets went overhead. Lieutenant 
Wingate, trusting to the excitement to pro¬ 
tect him, fired two shots into the bushes, then, 
springing up, grabbed Juana about the waist 
and ran with her to the protection of the 
rocks. 

“Is—is the girl dead?” gasped Emma. 

“I don’t know. Grace! Get the girls to¬ 
gether behind these rocks. Tom! Stacy! We 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 241 


will surround the girls. Spread out- a little 
and shoot at anything moving. I think I can 
reach the rifles. While I am fetching them, 
protect me with your revolvers.” 

By crawling cautiously around to the rear of 
the camp, Hippy was able to reach their auto¬ 
matic rifles and ammunition belts, and to re¬ 
join his companions, without drawing a shot. 
The girls were safe for the time being, and 
Grace and Elfreda were working over Juana, 
whom, they believed, had been shot by one of 
her own people. It showed the Overlanders 
what they themselves might expect. What they 
did not like was the silence that had followed 
the shooting. 

There was silence among the men of the 
Overland party, too, and their ears were 
strained to catch the faintest sound from the 
mesquite. Both sides apparently were play¬ 
ing the same game, and the Overland men were 
hoping that it might be played out in that way 
until daylight. 

In the meantime Grace and Elfreda were 
attending to Juana, who was still alive but how 
seriously wounded she might be they were un¬ 
able to determine. It required the united ef¬ 
forts of Emma and Nora to keep Arline Thayer 
from giving way to hysteria and revealing their 
position. 

16 - Grace Harlowe and Border GuerriUas 


242 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


The silence about their hiding place con¬ 
tinued until shortly after three o’clock in the 
morning when Tom heard a whispered conver¬ 
sation on his right. At first he thought it was 
the girls, then he discovered that the whispers 
were uttered by men. Lieutenant Wingate, 
too, had heard the whispers and pricked up his 
ears. A glance to the eastward told Hippy 
that it would soon be daylight. 

“I hope they hold off a little longer, but I 
fear they aren’t big enough fools to do so,” he 
muttered under his breath. 

It was Hippy’s opinion that the shots, earlier 
in the night had been fired by not more than 
two men, and that they had since been waiting 
for the arrival of the larger body of border 
guerrillas that Juana said Hernandez had sent 
for. 

“If they have arrived, someone is going to 
be shot,” reflected Hippy. “I hope I get the 
opportunity to even up with the ruffian who 
shot Juana.” 

The whispering soon ceased. It was fol¬ 
lowed by a slight rustling sound, which the 
watchers were unable to locate definitely, then 
once more silence settled over the mountains, 
lasting for some time, and the day dawned 
rapidly. Suddenly the silence was rent by a 
rifle shot. Other weapons began to crack, and 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 243 


above the ragged rocks some little* distance to 
the westward of his position, Hippy saw faint 
whitish clonds floating. He knew from this that 
smokeless powder was being used, but the 
bullets went high. 

“They’ve backed up, Tom,” called Lieu¬ 
tenant Wingate. “I reckon their gang has 
arrived and that we are in for a hot time. Get 
closer to me. Tell Stacy to look out for the 
rear. There they go again!” 

Bullets whistled again over the Overland 
position. Those that hit the rocks close at hand 
hissed away into space, and those that came 
biting through the foliage made a sound re¬ 
sembling the sharp ripping of cloth. Hippy, 
peering from behind a rock, discovered mov¬ 
ing figures, from which, in the early light, 
small tongues of fire seemed to leap. He raised 
his rifle and fired, then dodging to the other 
side of the rock emptied his magazine at the 
point whence the firing came, but with what re¬ 
sult the Overlander did not wait to see. 

Tom Gray was shooting slowly and with as 
much accuracy as was possible in the faint 
light. He saw one guerrilla tip over backwards 
and slowly slip down the side of the rock from 
which he had been shooting. 

“One!” growled Tom grimly. 

“Save your shells. I think the bunch is 


244 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


spreading out,” warned Lieutenant Wingate. 
“ After we have exhausted our ammunition 
they will rush us and that will be the end of the 
business.” 

“We’ll see about that!” growled Tom Gray 
savagely. “We have our side arms. What’s 
that?” 

A rifle had boomed close behind Tom, giving 
him a start. It was Emma, her hair down, face 
flushed and eyes snapping. She, too, had taken 
a hand in the battle, and, to the consternation 
of both men, was standing out in the open. 

* ‘ Get down ! 9 ’ shouted Hippy. 4 ‘ Get down, I 
say! Quick! This is no game for a girl. Get 
down! I—” 

“Rat-tat, tat, tat, tat, tat.” A new sound 
was added to the din. Emma Dean instantly 
recognized it. She needed no further invita¬ 
tion to seek cover, and fairly hurled herself 
behind the rocks that protected her compan¬ 
ions. 

“A machine gun!” cried Tom Gray. “The 
fiends ! 9 9 The swish, swish, swish of machine- 
gun fire through the foliage was a familiar 
sound to both men. That border guerrillas 
would go so far as to turn such a weapon on 
women was beyond their imagination. Tom 
ducked back out of sight, as a rifle bullet struck 
the flinty rock close to his head, then singing 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 245 


away into the air with a weird sound. It was 
followed by the spang, spang, spang of a 
heavier rifle’s bullets on the same rock. The 
guerrillas had searched him out and plainly 
intended to keep him behind the rock. Tom 
quickly changed his position by crawling to 
another similar cover and again began firing. 

4 4 Tom, we are getting a cross fire. They have 
flanked us on the north side,’ 9 called Grace. 

4 ‘Lie low. Take no chances. If it gets too 
hot crawl to the south side. Is the girl dead f 9 9 

“No, but she is unconscious. Hark!” 

The rifle reports suddenly increased in vol¬ 
ume, and the machine gun stuttered with re¬ 
newed nervousness, but to the amazement of 
the Overland party not a single bullet now 
came their way. Harsh, prolonged yells were 
heard ahead of them, and figures were seen to 
leap up on the rocks from which the guerrillas 
had been shooting. It now became evident that 
they were firing at some party other than the 
Overland Riders. 

“They’re attacked, Hippy!” cried Tom. 
“That’s what it is. Let’s cease firing and 
await results.” 

4 4 Oh, fiddlesticks! Just as I was getting into 
my stride, too,” growled Lieutenant Wingate. 

A furious battle was now being waged be¬ 
tween the guerrillas and another party that 


246 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


the Overlanders were unable to see. It ap¬ 
peared to be a running fight, too, with the ruf¬ 
fians seeking cover in the direction of the Over¬ 
land hiding place. Suddenly the guerrillas 
changed their course and began fleeing in the 
opposite direction, every man for himself. 
Occasionally bullets would whine over the 
heads of the Overland party, but too high to 
cause alarm. The firing now became fainter 
and fainter, and finally died away altogether. 

“I reckon it’s all over,” announced Tom, 
who, with Hippy, turned to the others of their 
party with relief in their faces. They found 
that Juana’s wound was slight, her head having 
been grazed by a bullet as it passed on. She 
was just regaining consciousness as they, 
reached her. 

After Elfreda had told the men that the 
girl’s wound was not serious, Hippy suggested 
that they step into camp and have something 
to eat, and at the same time make the wounded 
Mexican girl as comfortable as possible. 

“Yes. And I want to have a look at the 
guerrillas’ armory,” added Tom Gray. 

Hippy carried Juana off into the camp and 
the girls fixed her up, then calmly set about 
preparing breakfast, while Hippy and Tom 
made a reconnoitering tour to see if any of the 
ruffians had been left behind. They found 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 247 


three, but these were no longer to be feared, 
for they had paid the penalty. 

What to do now the Overland company did 
not know, but they decided to remain where 
they were for the time being, knowing that if 
it were the Rangers who had attacked and 
driven off the ruffians, sooner or later the 
Rangers would be heard from. Night came on, 
following a day of anxious watching, where¬ 
upon the Overland men stationed themselves 
outside the camp prepared for an all-night 
vigil. 

They had barely taken up their positions 
when the three men heard a horse approaching, 
apparently headed directly towards the camp. 

Hippy challenged and commanded the rider 
to halt. 

“All right, Overlander , 99 called a voice. 

“Advance slowly and I’ll decide that ques¬ 
tion for myself,’’ flung back Lieutenant Win¬ 
gate. “Halt!” he commanded when the horse¬ 
man had approached near enough to be dis¬ 
tinctly visible. Hippy directed a ray from his 
pocket lamp at the newcomer, then uttered a 
shout. 

“It’s Mr. McKay! Gracious! I’m glad to 
see you. Tom! Here’s Mr. McKay! ’ ’ 

“Willy McKay, Captain of the Texas 
Rangers, at your service, Lieutenant,” was 


248 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


the laughing reply of the newcomer, as he dis¬ 
mounted. “I hear you had a little mix-up here, 
and—” 

“Are you the ‘Willy’ that has been writing 
us those mysterious letters?” demanded Stacy 
Brown, who, upon hearing the challenge, had 
hastened to the scene. 

“I reckon I’m the fellow, young man, but 
you don’t need to worry any more. We have 
bagged the gang of guerrillas, shot some of 
them up, and may have their leader. I am not 
certain as to that.” 

“You are the man who gave us the com¬ 
mission to assist the Rangers. I recognize 
your voice now. Is Hernandez the man you 
have?” asked Lieutenant Wingate. 

“Hernandez? What do you know about 
him?” 

“Only that he is supposed to be the brains 
of the guerrilla movement, and is collecting 
arms and hiding them in the Guadalupes, to be 
run over the border when needed there, or to 
start something right here in the States. 
That’s all I know about him,” said Hippy. 
“Come into camp and we’ll have a snack and 
talk things over.” 

“How you discovered all this, Lieutenant, I 
don’t know, but you have hit upon the exact 
solution that we have been looking for for 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 249 


nearly six weeks. If yon can tell ns where they 
have hidden their stnff, yon will have done a 
service to the State that won’t he forgotten.” 

“We have Hernandez’s niece here in the 
camp slightly wounded. „ I think she will give 
yon all the information yon need,” Hippy in¬ 
formed the Ranger, and then proceeded to re¬ 
late to him how the girl had come to them and 
befriended them, bnt said nothing ahont thq,hid¬ 
den stores of arms and ammunition until they 
reached camp, where they were joined by Tom. 

The Overland girls greeted Willy McKay 
joyously, and when they learned who and what 
he was, they understood many things. 

“And here is the young woman who can tell 
you the exact location of the guerrillas’ hidden 
stores, Miss Elfreda—J. Elfreda Briggs, at 
home a lawyer—on the trail a good old scout,” 
announced Tom Gray. 

“I object to the term ‘old scout,’ ” rebuked 
Elfreda. “I admit the other charge. Did you 
get Hernandez, Mr. McKay?” 

“We think so, but are not certain. Lieuten¬ 
ant Wingate says you have his niece here. Do 
you think she will talk?” 

“She will. She will make a good witness 
for the State, too, and if you have the man I 
think she can be depended upon to do the rest. 
Our men will show you the place referred to a 


250 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


moment or so ago. Was it your Rangers who 
came to our assistance V 9 

“Yes. Your signals were seen. We met 
your boy and the mule while on our way here. 
He will be along with* some of our men in the 
morning. He stood guard over our mustangs 
while we were walloping the greasers. That’s 
that. Now tell me what you have discovered, 
Mis$ Briggs.” # 

‘ ‘ The men will lead you to it and show you. 
While you are absent, if the girl wants to talk 
I will get a statement from her.” 

An hour later, Willy McKay, with the as¬ 
sistance of Tom Gray and Hippy Wingate, was 
inventorying the goods found in the cache in 
the rocks, the Ranger making no effort to re¬ 
strain his excitement and enthusiasm. There 
were thousands of rounds of ammunition, 
rifles, revolvers, machine guns and other equip¬ 
ment, valued at many thousands of dollars. 

“I’ll sleep out here to-night, and in the morn¬ 
ing will put a guard over this plunder with 
Crazy Bill in charge. You already know him,” 
added the Ranger with a grin. 

“Crazy Bill!” exclaimed Tom Gray. “Is 
he one of your bunch, too?” 

“Yes. One of the best Ranger sleuths in the 
service. He has done you some service, too, 
and left a few messages for you at my request 


THE BOEDER GUERRILLAS 251 


—messages that were somewhat of a mystery 
to you at the time. He isn’t known as a 
Ranger, and I doubt if he is even suspected of 
being such. Those who know him, or think they 
do, consider him cracked on the subject of gold 
in the Guadalupes, for which he is always pros¬ 
pecting. We will go back to camp now and 
question the girl. She must be induced to 
identify Hernandez for us.” 

Juana had 4 ‘talked” before the men returned, 
and Miss Briggs had put down the information 
the girl had given, and sworn to. Willy McKay 
read the statement frowningly, and when he 
finished he swept off his sombrero and made 
an elaborate bow. 

“I take off my hat to the Overland Riders, 
and wish the whole bunch of you were enrolled 
with the Texas Rangers , 91 he said with an ear¬ 
nestness that left no doubts in the minds of the 
Overlanders of his sincerity. 

“You make a bow just like that fellow Gon¬ 
zales,” accused Stacy frowningly. 

“Gonzales will make no more graceful bows 
to this outfit , 9 9 the Ranger informed him. 4 4 He 
is on his way to town badly wounded, and if he 
recovers he will undoubtedly serve a long time 
in a Federal prison. We thought for a time 
that he was the brains of this guerrilla move¬ 
ment, but I am beginning to think he was the 


252 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


active lieutenant of the man Hernandez. I’ll 
have a look at the girl, if yon please.’’ 

Juana had a fever, so the Ranger did not 
question her, and after consulting with Elfreda 
and Grace he decided to send for a doctor, 
which was done on the following day. That day 
the Ranger guard came in, stern-faced men, 
here and there one with head or arm bandaged 
as the result of the fight with the border guer¬ 
rillas on the day before, and mounted guard 
over the contraband stores. When the doctor 
arrived two days later, he directed that Juana 
be not moved under a week or ten days. The 
Overlanders, therefore, said they would re¬ 
main where they were and take care of her. 

“Well, Arline, you’ve had what you yearned 
for— life!” said Emma as they sat about the 
campfire that evening. “You haven’t enjoyed 
‘life’ as you have found it, and though you have 
tried to make yourself breathe in harmony, you 
have made a mess of it. I hope you have 
learned your lesson and that in time you really 
will learn to breathe in harmony with yourself 
and with all mankind. ’ ’ 

“Don’t,” begged Arline. “Emma, I have a 
confession to make. ’ ’ 

“The confession is mine to make,” inter¬ 
rupted Grace Harlowe. ‘ ‘ Emma, I owe you an 
apology—we all do, for that matter, for we 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 253 


have played a mean trick on yon. Because of 
the hobbies that you are always riding, I 
thought it would be great sport to 4 put one over 
on you/ as Hippy would characterize it, so I 
read up a little on ‘ breathing in harmony/ 
posted Arline, and she entered into the plan 
with enthusiasm. Somehow, though, it did not 
work out so well as we had hoped. You turned 
the tables on us, and you made us feel cheap. 
Strangely enough you knew more about 
‘ breathing in harmony’ than any of us, and 
you fairly dazed us with the way you laid it on. 
I don’t understand it, but I hope you will for¬ 
give us.” 

4 ‘Oh, fiddlesticks!” retorted Emma Dean. 
“I thought you were going to tell me some¬ 
thing new. The first day of our journey I sus¬ 
pected that you two were trying to play a trick 
on me. The second day I was certain of it, so, 
when we were in New Orleans waiting for 
Stacy, I went to the public library to see if I 
could find something on ‘breathing in har¬ 
mony.’ I did, and read up thoroughly on it. I 
knew more about the subject than you did, of 
course, but I was sorry that I had to make life 
so miserable for Arline. Arline, dear, I humbly 
ask your forgiveness. It was mean and small of 
me to nag you so.” 

“Oh, Emma!” Arline threw her arms about 


254 


GRACE HARLOWE AND 


Emma’s neck, and her eyes shone through her 
tears. “You have taught me the real beauty 
of the thought that I held so lightly and of 
which I thought to make a joke.” 

“Girls,” spoke up J. Elfreda Briggs. “We 
have all learned a big little lesson, and I think 
that if, from now on, we try to apply that beau¬ 
tiful thought of ‘harmony’ to our daily activi¬ 
ties, we shall all be better and happier women.” 

66 Mush ! 99 growled Stacy Brown. “You girls 
give me the willies. Good-night!” Stacy 
scuffed away to his tent, and the others fol¬ 
lowed a few moments later, happy, and with all 
care lifted from their shoulders. 

The activities of the Overland Eiders for the 
following ten days were confined to the vicinity 
of their camp. Juana was finally removed by 
the Rangers and taken to El Paso for safe¬ 
keeping and treatment. Her statement, given 
to Miss Briggs, was the means of involving, 
not only Hernandez and others, but Pat Proll 
as well, in the plan of the border guerrillas to 
start a revolution on the American side of the 
border and bring about intervention that would 
once more throw Mexico into turmoil. 

None of the prisoners confessed, and Pat 
Proll escaped before the law could get him. It 
developed that Juana’s father was a member 


THE BORDER GUERRILLAS 255 


of Hernandez’s guerrilla band, but that he 
knew little of the plans of the master mind— 
Hernandez. Juana herself remained in El 
Paso after her recovery, and, because of her 
assistance to the State in breaking up the band, 
she was placed in a position that would make 
her self-supporting. 

The Overland Riders ended their outing in 
the early fall, all ‘‘breathing in harmony” and 
with Lemuel St. Petersburg Johnson the proud¬ 
est and happiest youngster in the Guadalupes 
because of the handsome purse that they pre¬ 
sented to him before entraining for home. As 
for the Overland Riders themselves, all were 
eagerly looking forward to another journey 
next summer, and even Arline Thayer declared 
that she wished to be with them then, and that 
she had learned to “live” during that never- 
to-be-forgotten journey through the Guada¬ 
lupes. 


THE END 


















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Dash and Dare Cruise. 

5. THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB IN FLORIDA; or, Laying the Ghost 

of Alligator Swamp. 

6. THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB AT THE GOLDEN GATE; or, A 

Thrilling Capture in the Great Fog. 

f. THE MOTOR BOAT CLUB ON THE GREAT LAKES; or, The 
Flying Dutchman of the Big Fresh Water. 





THE SUBMARINE BOYS SERIES 

By VICTOR G. DURHAM 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

A voyage in an undersea boat! What 
boy has not done so time and again in 
his youthful dreams? The Submarine 
Boys did it in reality, diving into the 
dark depths of the sea, then, like Father 
Neptune, rising dripping from the deep 
to sunlight and safety. Yet it was not 
all easy sailing for the Submarine Boys, 
for these hardy young “undersea pi¬ 
rates” experienced a full measure of ex¬ 
citement and had their share of thrills, 
as all who sail under the surface of the 
seas are certain to do. The author 
knows undersea boats, and the reader who voyages with him 
may look forward to an instructive as well as lively cruise. 

1. THE SUBMARINE BOYS ON DUTY; or, Life on a Diving Torpedo 

Boat. 

2. THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ TRIAL TRIP; or, “Making Good” as 

Young Experts. 

3. THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE MIDDIES; or, The Prize De¬ 

tail at Annapolis. 

4. THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SPIES; or. Dodging the 

Sharks of the Deep. 

5. THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ LIGHTNING CRUISE; or, The Young 

Kings of the Deep. 

6. THE SUBMARINE BOYS FOR THE FLAG; or, Deeding Their Lives 

to Uncle Sam. 

7. THE SUBMARINE BOYS AND THE SMUGGLERS; or, Breaking 

Up the New Jersey Customs Frauds. 

8. THE SUBMARINE BOYS’ SECRET MISSION; or, Beating an Am¬ 

bassador’s Game. 














THE PONY RIDER BOYS SERIES 

By FRANK GEE PATCHIN 


PRICE, $1.00 EACH 


P0NY-RIDERB0Y5 

IN-THE-ROCK1ES 


This unusual and popular series tells 
vividly the story of four adventure-lov¬ 
ing lads, who, with their guardian, spent 
their summer vacations in the saddle in 
search of recreation and healthful 
adventure, though for a time it seemed to 
them that nature and man had conspired 
to defeat them at every turn. Long 
journeys over mountain, through the 
fastness of primitive forest and across 
burning desert, lead them into the wild 
places of their native land as well as 
into many strange and exciting experi¬ 
ences. There is not a dull moment in the series for the Pony 
Rider Boys nor for those who read of their summer wander¬ 
ings. 

1. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES; or. The Secret of 

the Lost Claim. 

2. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN TEXAS; or, The Veiled Riddle of the 

Plains. 



3. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN MONTANA; or, The Mystery of the 

Old Custer Trail. 

4. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE OZARKS; or, The Secret of 

Ruby Mountain. 

5. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE ALKALI; or, Finding a Key to 

the Desert Maze. 

6. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN NEW MEXICO; or, The End of the 

Silver Trail. 

7. THE PONY RIDER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON; or, The 

Mystery of Bright Angel Gulch. 

8. THE PONY RIDER BOYS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS; or, On 

the Trail of the Border Bandits. 












THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS 

SERIES 

By FRANK GEE PATCHIN 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

“Farming? Pooh!” This, today, is the atti¬ 
tude of the average American young man. Yet 
the most solid and enduring wealth comes out of 
the soil. The old farming conditions are passing. 
The ranch or great farm of today is really a 
gigantic business undertaking, employing multi¬ 
tudes, and those of the employees who rise and 
lead these multitudes find the best of incomes 
awaiting them. Ranch and farm today distinctly 
bid for brains, not mere muscle. Do you know, 
for instance, that from $10,000 to $12,000 a year 
is very common pay for the foremen of the great 
wheat ranches in Kansas? Have you any idea of 
the excitements, the glories of this life on great 
ranches in the West? Any bright boy will “de¬ 
vour” the books of this series, once he has made 
a start with the first volume. 

1. THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE RANCH; or. 

The Boy Shepherds of the Great Divide. 

2. THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS’ GREATEST ROUND¬ 

UP; or, Pitting Their Wits Against a Packers’ Combine. 

3. THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS ON THE PLAINS; or, 

Following the Steam Plows Across the Prairie. 

4. THE RANGE AND GRANGE HUSTLERS AT CHICAGO; or, The 

Conspiracy of the Wheat Pit. 

THE BOYS OF STEEL SERIES 

By JAMES R. MEARS 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

In this splendid series the great American steel industry is exploited by 
a master pen. The author put in much time studying conditions at the 
iron mines, on the transportation routes and at the big steel mills. He has 
made of these volumes a series of romances with scenes laid in the iron and 
steel world. Each book presents a vivid picture of some phase of this 
great industry. The information given is exact and truthful; above all, 
each story is full of adventure and fascination. The steel industry today 
offers a splendid field for the efforts of really bright American youths. 
There are great possibilities of careers in this line of work; the brightest 
who enter may in time win some of the highest incomes paid in this coun¬ 
try. And the work is full of fascination throughout. 

1. THE IRON BOYS IN THE MINES; or, Starting at the Bottom of 

the Shaft. 

2. THE IRON BOYS AS FOREMEN; or, Heading the Diamond Drill 

Shift. 

3. THE IRON BOYS ON THE ORE BOATS; or, Roughing It on the 

Great Lakes. 

4. THE IRON BOYS IN THE STEEL MILLS; or, Beginning Anew in 

the Cinder Pits. 













THE CIRCUS BOYS SERIES 

By EDGAR B. P. DARLINGTON 

PRICE, 11.00 EACH 

No call to the heart of the youth of 
America finds a readier response than the 
call of the billowing canvas, the big red 
wagons, the crash of the circus band and 
the trill of the ringmaster’s whistle. It 
is a call that captures the imagination of 
old and young alike, and so do the books 
of this series capture and enthrall the 
reader, for they were written by one who, 
besides wielding a master pen, has fol¬ 
lowed the sawdust trail from coast to 
coast, who knows the circus people and 
the sturdy manliness of those who do 
and dare for the entertainment of mil¬ 
lions of circus-goers when the grass is 
green. Mr. Darlington paints a true picture of the circus life. 

1. THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS; or, Making the 

Start in the Sawdust Life. 

2. THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; or, Winning 

New Laurels on the Tanbark. 

3. THE CIRCUS BOYS IN DIXIE LAND; or. Winning the Plaudits of 

the Sunny South. 

4. THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE MISSISSIPPI; or, Afloat with the 

Big Show on the Big River. 

5. THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE PLAINS; or, The Young Advance 

Agents Ahead of the Show. 

BOOKS FOR GIRLS 

THE MADGE MORTON SERIES 

By AMY D. V. CHALMERS 

PRICE, *1.00 EACH 

The heroines of these stories are four girls, who with en¬ 
thusiasm for outdoor life, transformed a dilapidated canal 
boat into a pretty floating summer home. They christened 
the craft “The Merry Maid” and launched it on the shore of 
Chesapeake Bay. The stories are full of fun and adventure, 
with not a dull moment anywhere. 

1. MADGE MORTON—CAPTAIN OF THE MERRY MAID. 

2. MADGE MORTON’S SECRET. 

3. MADGE MORTON’S TRUST. 

4. MADGE MORTON’S VICTORY. 












THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS SERIES 

By JANET ALDRIDGE 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

Four clever girls go hiking around 
the country and meet with many thril¬ 
ling and provoking adventures. These 
stories pulsate with the atmosphere of 
outdoor life. 

1. THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS UNDER 
CANVAS; or, Fun and Frolic in the Sum¬ 
mer Camp. 

2. THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ACROSS 
COUNTRY; or, The Young Pathfinders 
on a Summer Hike. 

3. THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS AFLOAT; 
or, The Stormy Cruise of the Red Rover. 

4. THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS IN THE HILLS; or. The Missing 

Pilot of the White Mountains. 

5. THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS BY THE SEA; or, The Loss of the 

Lonesome Bar. 

6. THE MEADOW-BROOK GIRLS ON THE TENNIS COURTS; or, 

Winning Out in the Big Tournament. 

THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS SERIES 

By LAURA DENT CRANE 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

Girls as well as boys love wholesome adventure, a wealth 
of which is found in many forms and in many scenes in the 
volumes of this series. 

1. THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT NEWPORT; or, Watching the Sum¬ 

mer Parade. 

2. THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS IN THE BERKSHIRES; or. The 

Ghost of Lost Man’s Trail. 

3. THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS ALONG THE HUDSON; or, Fighting 

Fire in Sleepy Hollow. 

4. THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT CHICAGO; or. Winning Out 

Against Heavy Odds. 

5. THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT PALM BEACH; or, Proving Their 

Mettle Under Southern Skies. 

6. THE AUTOMOBILE GIRLS AT WASHINGTON; or, Checkmating 

the Plots of Foreign Spies. 



















THE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SERIES 

By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M. 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

The scenes, episodes, and adventures 
through which Grace Harlowe and her 
intimate chums pass in the course of 
these stories are pictured with a vivacity 
that at once takes the young feminine 
captive. 

1. GRACE HARLOWE’S PLEBE YEAR AT 

HIGH SCHOOL; or, The Merry Doings of , 
the Oakdale Freshmen Girls. 

2. GRACE HARLOWE’S SOPHOMORE YEAR 

AT HIGH SCHOOL; or. The Record of the 
Girl Chums in Work and Athletics. 

3. GRACE HARLOWE’S JUNIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; or, 

Fast Friends in the Sororities. 

4. GRACE HARLOWE’S SENIOR YEAR AT HIGH SCHOOL; or, 

The Parting of the Ways. 



THE COLLEGE GIRLS SERIES 

By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M. 

PRICE, $1.00 EACH 

Every school and college girl will recognize that the ac¬ 
count of Grace Harlowe’s experiences at Overton College is 
true to life. 

1. GRACE HARLOWE’S FIRST YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. 

2. GRACE HARLOWE’S SECOND YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. 

3. GRACE HARLOWE’S THIRD YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. 

4. GRACE HARLOWE’S FOURTH YEAR AT OVERTON COLLEGE. 

5. GRACE HARLOWE’S RETURN TO OVERTON CAMPUS. 

6 . GRACE HARLOWE’S PROBLEM. 

7. GRACE HARLOWE’S GOLDEN SUMMER. 













THE GRACE HARLOWE OVERSEAS 

SERIES 

By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M. 

PRICE, J1.00 EACH 

Grace Harlowe went with the Over- 
ton College Red Cross Unit to France, 
there to serve her country by aiding the 
American fighting forces. These books 
will interest every girl reader because 
they describe the great war from a 
girl’s point of view. 

1. GRACE HARLOWE OVERSEAS. 

2. GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE RED 
CROSS IN FRANCE. 

3. GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE MA¬ 
RINES AT CHATEAU THIERRY. 

4. GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE U. S. 
TROOPS IN THE ARGONNE. 

5. GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE YANKEE 
SHOCK BOYS AT ST. QUENTIN. 

6. GRACE HARLOWE WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY ON THE 
RHINE. 



THE GRACE HARLOWE OVERLAND 
RIDERS SERIES 

By JESSIE GRAHAM FLOWER, A. M. 

PRICE, 31.00 EACH 

Grace Harlowe and her friends of the Overton College Unit 
seek adventure on the mountain trails and in the wilder sec¬ 
tions of their homeland, after their return from service in 
France. These are stories of real girls for real girls. 

1. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON THE OLD 

APACHE TRAIL. 

2. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS ON THE GREAT 

AMERICAN DESERT. 

3. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS AMONG THE KEN¬ 

TUCKY MOUNTAINEERS. 

4. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS IN THE GREAT 

NORTH WOODS. 

5. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS IN THE HIGH 

SIERRAS. 

6. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS IN THE YELLOW¬ 

STONE NATIONAL PARK. 

7. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS IN THE BLACK 

HILLS. 

3. GRACE HARLOWE’S OVERLAND RIDERS AT CIRCLE Q. 
RANCH. 














WEE BOOKS FOR WEE FOLKS 

For little, hands to fondle and for mother to read aloud. 
Every ounce of them will give a ton of joy. 

WEE BOOKS FOR WEE FOLKS SERIES 

1. MOTHER GOOSE NURSERY TALES. 

2. MOTHER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES. 

3. A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES. Robert 

Louis Stevenson. 

4. THE FOOLISH FOX. 

5. THREE LITTLE PIGS. 

6 THE ROBBER KITTEN. 

7. LITTLE BLACK SAMBO. 

8. THE LITTLE SMALL RED HEN. 

9. THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. 

10. THE LITTLE WISE CHICKEN THAT 

KNEW IT ALL. 

11. PIFFLE’S ABC BOOK OF FUNNY ANIMALS. 

12. THE FOUR LITTLE PIGS THAT DIDN’T HAVE ANY MOTHER. 

13. THE LITTLE PUPPY THAT WANTED TO KNOW TOO MUCH. 

14. THE COCK, THE MOUSE AND THE LITTLE RED HEN. 

15. GRUNTY GRUNTS AND SMILEY SMILE—INDOORS. 

16. GRUNTY GRUNTS AND SMILEY SMILE—OUTDOORS. 

17. I DON’T WANT TO WEAR COATS AND THINGS. 

18. I DON’T WANT TO GO TO BED. 

WEE FOLKS BIBLE STORIES SERIES 

1. WEE FOLKS STORIES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. In 

Words of One Syllable. 

2. WEE FOLKS STORIES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT. In 

Words of One Syllable. 

3. WEE FOLKS LIFE OF CHRIST. 

4. WEE FOLKS BIBLE ABC BOOK. 

5. LITTLE PRAYERS FOR LITTLE LIPS. 

THE WISH FAIRY SERIES 

1. THE LONG AGO YEARS STORIES. 

2. THE WISH FAIRY OF THE SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 

FOREST. 

3. THE WISH FAIRY AND DEWY DEAR. 

4. THE MUD WUMPS OF THE SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 

FOREST. 

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED IN COLORS. 



PRICE, 50c. EACH 














WEE FOLKS PETER RABBIT SERIES 

1. THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT. 

2. HOW PETER RABBIT WENT TO SEA. 

3. PETER RABBIT AT THE FARM. 

4. PETER RABBIT’S CHRISTMAS. 

5. PETER RABBIT’S EASTER. 

6. WHEN PETER RABBIT WENT TO 
SCHOOL. 

7. PETER RABBIT’S BIRTHDAY. 

8. PETER RABBIT GOES A-VISITING. 

9. PETER RABBIT AND JACK-THE-JUMPER. 

10. PETER RABBIT, JACK-THE-JUMPER AND THE LITTLE BOY. 

11. PETER RABBIT, JACK-THE-JUMPER AND LITTLE WHITE 

RABBIT. 

12. PETER RABBIT, JACK-THE-JUMPER AND THE OLD WITCH 

WOMAN. 

13. PETER RABBIT, JACK-THE-JUMPER AND THE TINYBITS. 

14. WHEN PETER RABBIT WENT A-FISHING. 

15. OLD MOTHER RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR. 

WEE FOLKS CINDERELLA SERIES 

1. THE WONDERFUL STORY OF CINDERELLA. 

2. THE STORY OF LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. 

3. THE OLDTIME STORY OF THE THREE BEARS. 

4. THE OLD, OLD STORY OF POOR COCK ROBIN. 

5. CHICKEN LITTLE. 

6. PUSS IN BOOTS. 

7. THREE LITTLE KITTENS THAT LOST THEIR MITTENS. 

8. JACK THE GIANT KILLER. 

9. JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK. 

10. TOM THUMB. 

LITTLE BUNNIE BUNNIEKIN SERIES 

1. LITTLE BUNNIE BUNNIEKIN. 

2. LITTLE LAMBIE LAMBKIN. 

3. LITTLE MOUSIE MOUSIEKIN. 

4. LITTLE DEARIE DEER. 

5. LITTLE SQUIRRELIE SQUIRRELIEKIN. 

6. OLD RED REYNARD THE FOX. 

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED IN COLORS. 



PRICE, 50c. EACH 















































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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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